Space Family
by Snowflake Kisses
Summary: He may be a prodigy, he may be a Starfleet Officer, but that didn't mean he wasn't still a kid; and growing up can be hard, especially upon the Federations flagship with the craziest damn crew in the entire galaxy. It's dangerous, ruthless, terrifying, but also exciting and Pavel Andreievich Chekov wouldn't change it for the world.
1. Space Family

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Gene Roddenberry, J.J Abrams, and Paramount.**

**A/N: Hey guys! So, this is my first contribution to the freaking amazing Star Trek fandom! I'm in love with TOS and the new Alternate Reality and have recently seen Star Trek Into Darkness about three times in theaters, so of course the plot bunnies are going to attack. Nevertheless, like I said, this is my _first _attempt at writing Star Trek fics, so please have mercy senior Trekkies. (Speaking of which, is it Trekkies or Trekkers?) I'm hoping that I got all the characters _in_ character, but I'm not 100% sure. I wanted to bring out some of their underlying personalities as well, so that's just where I'm iffy. Feedback is always welcomed and much appreciated. I'll try to write more if you guys like it, but I won't make any promises. :)**

**This one-shot is set about four weeks after the events of Into Darkness and two weeks after Kirk wakes up. It also mainly focuses on Chekov and him being his cute little teenager self and coming to terms with all the chaotic hell they had to deal with in the movie. I feel that there is a lack of good Enterprise Family!fics with the crew. It's always someone in a relationship with someone, but never really focuses on how much they love and care for each other and how they would do anything for each other. That's kind of why I love Into Darkness so much. It plays on those emotions more. Either way, I love the entire crew, but Chekov is like my baby and I love him so much and I think he deserves to be a kid sometimes. So, voila.**

**Enjoy. :) Reviews and feedback would be greatly appreciated.**

**Snow out. ;D**

* * *

_The Keptin ees aliwe…he ees okae…_ Chekov thought for the umpteenth time since entering the San Francisco GeneralHospital; the words becoming a mantra of forced reassurance as he wandered cautiously through the chaotic building. It'd been four long weeks since the Enterprise was grounded, filled with debriefings and lectures and memorials for the many lost do to the wrath of Khan. Their ship was still in shambles, having - for the first time in months - to be brought down to the Shipyard for ground reconstruction: the warp core needed to be replaced; systems needed to be rebooted and reconfigured, and don't even start on the hull damage. All in all, their lovely lady was in need of some major TLC and Chekov had been more than ready to offer it - anything to avoid visiting the captain.

It wasn't that he didn't like Kirk, no, Chekov idolized the man. He was fun and carefree and always kind to everyone. When he looked at the teen he never saw him for his age, but for his brain and even dubbed him his 'right hand man' for any and all pranks he pulled on the upper ranks. And even though he would pick on the boy (be it his accent or puppy-like excitement) it was never with the intent to hurt or demine, but to express a kindred-ship, a brotherhood, and his unconditional love. Jim was the glue that held their space family together; the ribbon that connected them; the spot in their hearts they thought could never be filled. He was everything to them.

That's why - no matter what was said - Chekov just couldn't bring himself to visit the captain: to help talk to him, to coax him from the medically induced coma, to bring him home. He'd seen him die; watched the light leave his bright blue eyes, saw the smile leave his purpled lips and in that moment some small part of Pavel's heart died with his captain. He couldn't be alive. He'd seen it and it killed him and he swore something broke in his chest, because he was _so _much pain once he left Engineering. It had burned and ate at him and made him wish that he, too, was dead. It was an unbearable agony, like someone was physically tearing apart every artery and vein and bone and organ inside his entire body. Yet, he never shed a tear.

Chekov was a crier; he hated to admit it, but it was true. He could make himself look tough, or try to, but in the end he was always a little too soft. That was probably why so many of the females on the ship fawned on him like some kind of child, because he couldn't seem to grow out of his childhood habits. He still slept with a stuffed Sehalt his mother had given him, still kept on a nightlight and was always giddy and excited and curious, but he still craved physical contact and reassurance and praise and could throw a tantrum now and again and he was sensitive, _very_ sensitive, so he cried, a lot. But he didn't cry when the man he loved like the older brother he never had, died. _Spock_, of all people, had _cried_, but Chekov didn't. He couldn't. Because he didn't want to believe it was true.

So through pain and disbelief and over-working himself and fear and a very stern talking to by Lieutenant Uhura, young Pavel Chekov somehow managed to find himself standing outside one of the hospital rooms, staring at the too white door with _James T. Kirk_ written in black washable marker on the side plaque. Swallowing hard and tugging at the collar of his green T-shirt, the boy raised his hand to knock on the door, only to have it slide open before his knuckles could make contact.

Leonard 'Bones' McCoy glowered down at the young Russian, dark brown meeting light grey, before grabbing him none-to-gently by the arm and yanking him through the threshold with a startled yelp.

"It's 'bout time ya got here, kid. Uhura said you'd be comin' a half-hour ago." the doctor grumbled and let go of Chekov, rolling up the sleeves of his white scrubs.

"I-I'm zoory, sor. I-I got loost on ze way here." Chekov admitted nervously, blushing in embarrassment when the doctor's mouth gapped in disbelief.

"Hey, well if it isn't the kid. I've been waitin' for ya to show up." The rough, slightly groggy interjection caused Pavel to stiffen, his eyes widening slightly before slowly sliding over to the source; James T. Kirk sat (propped up with pillows) against the headboard of the hospital bio-bed, his signature grin shinning just as bright as his deep blue eyes and filled with _life_.

"E-et ees good too see you, s-sor…" the boy stuttered, swallowing thickly as he turned to face the man, averting his eyes and waving slightly, arms tight at his sides.

Jim gave a low laugh and motioned the boy forward, to which Bones gave him a gentle shove when he wouldn't move. Swallowing again, Chekov stiffly walked to the other man's side, staying a good ten inches away from the edge so as not to screw anything up. Jim shook his head and reached forward, grasping the boy's arm and pulling him closer.

"Come on, don't be like that. It's alright; I'm not going to keel over or anything. Bones has been taking great care of me, I assure you." Jim hummed with a wink to the older male, earning a low grumble and a faint 'pain in my ass' in response.

Chekov's eyes nearly popped out of his head when the captain touched him, the _warmth _left behind sending goosebumps through his entire body. Unconsciously the boy wiggled his arm free and took a large step back, shaking his head.

"N-nyet…I-I'll mees soomzing up. I-I ees good right here…da?" Pavel laughed nervously, clasping his trembling hands behind his back so as to keep from worrying the captain.

Jim frowned and Pavel felt his blood freeze. His eyes darted over to Dr. McCoy who was watching them carefully, arms crossed, blank sight set on the boy and Chekov was fairly certain he might not walk out of this hospital un-hypoed.

"I-I am sorry! I am sorry! I-I deed noot mean to ufend, hoonest!" the boy sputtered quickly and flailed his arms in panicked explanation, eyes darting between Kirk and McCoy.

"For goodness sake, kid! He isn't a freaking porcelain doll; standin' next to him won't do nothin', I've hypoed his ass enough times in the past few days to know that myself." McCoy grumbled, throwing his hands in the air as he stomped over to the boy and, eliciting a terrified squeak, proceeded to pick him up and set him on the edge of the bio-bed. Then, with gentler hands, he took one of Chekov's in his and flattened the small pale against Jim's chest, allowing him to feel the steady heartbeat drum against his fingers tips. And something snapped.

Jim's brows furrowed in concern, but his lips twitched into a weak smile as he cupped the boy's face and drew a thumb over the dampened skin. "Pavel, hey, it's okay…"

Chekov blinked, not knowing when (or why) he started to cry or when the dam holding everything back had broken, but it had and suddenly the pain was back and tears were blinding his vision and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Doo noot** ever** doo zat againe, K-Keptin!" he ordered, voice breaking into a hiccupping-sob as he desperately tried to wipe at his eyes and his chest heaved with heart break and man, he _hurt _so bad.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, it's okay; don't cry. Everything is okay now, Pavel, I'm here," Jim whispered comfortingly, pulling the teen's head into his chest as Bones rubbed at his bed. Chekov latched onto the Jim's hospital gown like he was afraid the man would disappear any second, burrowing his face into Jim's shoulder as he let loose four weeks of pent up stress, anxiety and heart-ache.

"Y-you are so s-stoopeed foor gooing eento ze varp core like zat! Y-you neew eet vood kill you! You neew eet! You are so stoopeed, Jeem! You are so so s-stoopeed!" Chekov shamelessly wailed between heavy sobs and painful hiccups, sniffling desperately to keep snot from getting on Jim's shirt.

"Come on, Pav, everythin's okay now. He's okay, everythings okay. Calm down, shh, shh," Bones whispered calmly, rubbing the boy's back in soothing circles as Jim ran his hand through the tuff of brown curls on his head. It was rare to see such a soft side of Bones, what with him always grumpier than an angry black bear, but underneath that bear-like persona was a loving father and a kind-hearted brother who would do anything for his cubs.

"M-meester Spock…c-cried v-vhen you died…b-boot I c-coodn't…I-I j-joost coodn't…I-I deedn't vont t-to beliewe you ver g-gone! I-I deedn't v-vant to zink aboot l-loosing m-my beeg brozer…I-I'm sorry I deedn't come s-sooner…I-I am sorry…" Sniffling and coughing, the boy whipped at his eyes, trying to steady his breathing and rein in some control. Jim shook his head and tightened his arms around the teen, pressing his cheek into his curls.

"All that matters is you're here now, kiddo."

"Z-Ze crev ez l-leek f-family; l-loosing you v-vood leave w-wery large v-vhole een ze center, v-ve'd all haf eempty place en ze heart v-vitoot you..."

"I'm sorry I put you guys through so much pain; it was never my intention, but I knew the risk I was taking going into the core. It didn't matter to me that I'd die; it didn't matter that it would hurt like all hell; the only thing that mattered was protecting you guys." Jim admitted half-lidded eyes watching over Pavel's shoulder as Bones frowned sympathetically. Shifting slightly, the captain pulled Chekov back and tilted his head with a crooked finger, smiling sadly at the teary-eyed teen.

"Our crew _is_ my family and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you guys. The thought of anything happening to Bones or Spock or Uhura or Sulu or Chapel or Scotty or, god forbid, _you_…I just…that alone would have killed me more painfully than radiation poisoning ever could. I love all of you with every fiber of my being and I'll be damned if anything happens, hence why I made the call to go in there." The seriousness in his voice conveyed so much truth to both Bones and Pavel that they were left silenced, stunned by the hidden side of their friend. It didn't last long though as Jim shook his head and grinned broadly, ruffling the teen's hair jovially.

"I am so proud of you, Pavel, you don't even know." Jim hummed fondly, "You did a wonderful job keeping Engineering together while Scotty was gone. Spock told me how brave and quick on your feet you were to help Uhura and him catch Khan. Scotty was beside himself telling me how much work you've been doing to help repair the Enterprise, too. You're one amazing little brother, I'll tell ya."

Chekov blinked a few time as a light blush darkening his tear stained cheeks and a small bashful smile crossed his pink lips, "Z-zank you, sor."

Jim arched an eyebrow and smirked mischievously, "What, you going to get all formal on me now after all that? Didn't seem too conscious of rank when you verbally bashed me for saving your life, now did he Bones?"

"Nope, seemed mighty big for his breeches telling you off, Jim; not that you didn't deserve it," Bones played along and chuckled at the glare he received from his friend.

The boy blinked and his blush darkened as he recalled his words, swallowing hard, "I-I am sorry sor! I-I did noot-"

Jim held up his hand to cut the boy off, shaking his head. "Nope, you disrespected your Captain, Ensign. That's warrant for a court marshal."

Chekov's eyes widened, "b-boot…"

"Come on, Jim. Don't be like that; the kid did just have an emotional breakdown after all." Defended Bones

Jim sighed heavily and nodded, "I guess your right Bones, but what do you suppose I do? We need to make sure he doesn't step out of line again."

Bones smirked, "Well, I do believe I can overlook some good old Southern torture, if you know what I mean, _Captain_."

Eyes sparkling with mischief, Jim's custom troublemaking smirk spread across his lips. "Oh, I know what you mean alright, _Doctor_. And I think its perfect punishment."

"V-vat are you…" Pavel looked between both men and tried to squirm away but Jim quickly caught the boy around the waist and rested his chin on his shoulder.

"Oh, no, you're not getting out of this one, Pavel. You're going to sit here and take it like a man." Jim emphasized the last word with spindly fingers dancing across the boy's thin stomach, eliciting a high pitched squeal of laughter and an involuntary twitch.

"N-nyet! N-nyet! K-Keptin, I am too tikoleesh! Stoop!" Pavel giggled, shaking his head frantically as he tried to grab at the captain's wrists, but Jim was too quick for him and buried his fingers under the boy's arms to continue his assault.

"Come on, Bones, join in. Scotty did tell us that the kid has been overworking himself even after you told him to get some rest," Jim chuckled over the sound of Chekov's laughter.

Bones rolled his eyes and grumbled something along the lines of 'dammit it, Jim. I'm a doctor, not your minion,' but grabbed the underside of the boy's knees anyway and began to squeeze the sensitive flesh through the thin jeans.

"Nyet! Nyet! Stoop!" he laughing and giggled and squealed, jerking every which way to get out of the two men's reach, but between Jim's arm around his waist and Bones hands on his thighs he was a goner.

"Well, it would appear the captain's health has improved exponentially," The cool, calm voice startled the men from their torture, eyes shifting to the door of the room only to find Spock and the rest of the bridge crew watching them in amusement.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Jim beamed happily, chuckling to himself as Pavel leaned into his shoulder to catch his breath.

"Uh-oh, Pasha, the captain's found out your weakness, looks like you better keep your shields up to 100% now," Hikaru teased as he walked over to the bed, followed by the rest of the crew who pulled up chairs to sit around the bed. The resident Asian pilot sat his chair to the left Jim's hip, crossing one jean clad leg over the other, laying his black jacket over the back of the chair and fixing the hem of his blue T-shirt.

"Y-you zuck…'Karu…" Chekov panted, shooting a weak glare to his best friend as he whipped the tears from his face.

"I find your human ritual of taking advantage of one's weaknesses for your own selfish enjoyment highly illogical, Jim." Concluded Spock as he stood to Jim's right side with his hands clasp behind his back and clad in a grey Starfleet uniform.

Jim gave Spock a look and shot his hand out to grasp the man's side, eliciting a strange noise from his first officer. The rest of the crew burst out laughing as a green blush formed on the man's cheeks and he averted his eyes, fist over his mouth to pass it off as a cough.

"That was not amusing, Jim." Spock hissed.

"Sure it was! Who knew the hobgoblin was ticklish?" Bones laughed loudly and Jim shook his head.

"Hey, keep your hands to yourself, Captain. He's _my _boyfriend, after all." Uhura reprimanded from her seat next to Pavel's legs, jean-clad ankles tucked under the chair and pulling up the sleeves of her red sweater. She smiled sweetly at Chekov before tickling the underside of a sock-covered foot, eliciting a tiny giggle from the boy. It would appear the two men had managed to get the boy's black boots off in the midst of their tickle-war, how they managed it no one would ever know.

Jaw slack, Jim scowled at Uhura and stuck his tongue out in the childish manner that was the epitome of James T. Kirk. "Yeah, well he's _my _first officer and third best friend, so ha!"

"Third?" Bones arched an eyebrow and Jim nodded.

"Yep, you, Scotty, then Spock; I have a list."

Bones gave his friend an un-amused look before bopping him on the back of the head for his stupidity.

Spock just shook his head at the man's antics, but couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching just slightly.

"Well, what ya say we get on with this wee gatheren,?" Scotty grinned from his seat next to Sulu, clad in an old red Hawaiian shirt and tan cargo pants and holding up a bag of goodies for the captain.

"Dammit, man. This is a hospital, not a place for social gatherings." Bones groaned in frustration, running a hand over his tired face.

Jim chuckled, "Come on, Bones, you can over look it this once, can't you? It's been forever since we last had the whole crew together."

"One month, two days, 8 hours, 45 minutes and 29 seconds, to be precise, Captain." Spock clarified curtly.

Jim arched an eyebrow at Bones, giving him a 'see what I mean' look and all the doctor could do was sigh and grumble under his breath.

"Fine, but no alcohol and don't ya overdo it. Surprised you're not ready to keel over after ticklin' the kid so much."

"Because that was fun and fun gives me more energy. I'm just special like that," Jim grinned smugly.

"Yeah, yer special a'right, specially stupid," Bones murmured, running his Tricorder over Jim's body for a quick check.

"Hey, don't forget, I still outrank you and-Ah! Dammit, Bones!" Jim cursed and rubbed at the spot on his neck where Bones had jammed a hypo into his skin.

"Okay, yer good now." Bones grinned evilly and the rest of the crew burst out laughing as their captain crossed his arms and pouted childishly.

The next few hours passed swiftly, each second filled with joy as the crew divulged themselves in slices of home-made sweets from each of their different origins, played numerous rounds of Poker and Black Jack, and caught up with the happenings of the past few weeks. It was, however, not until around the fifteenth game of Poker that Jim noticed a small tug on his free hand and looked down, smiling softly as he found Chekov had fallen asleep in his chair next to the bed; one arm acting as his pillow and the other having abandoned its grasp on his playing cards to wrap tightly around the security of Jim's.

And through the thick haze of exhausted sleep, Chekov could feel the light squeeze on his hand and the calloused thumb that rubbed softly over his pale knuckles and he couldn't help but smile faintly in his sleep – surrounded by the people who love him, there was no room for doubt or stress, or worry. They would always look out for each other, he knew, always be there to make mistakes and do heroic deeds and worry each other to all hell, because that was just what they did. That was what families did. And Chekov wouldn't replace his crazy, dysfunctional space family for anything - even if his captain was a reckless moron.


	2. Wrath of Lieutenant Uhura

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: And here you go. :) Another exciting installment into the lives of our favorite starship crew. Let's watch them in their primal habitat, shall we? Set post-Narada pre-Khan.**

**Enjoy. :) Reviews and feedback would be greatly appreciated.**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

"I cannoot do zis! I cannoot do zis!" Chekov cried as he raced through the halls of the U.S.S Enterprise, breath hard and face a mask of pure terror as his legs hit the metallic floor with more vigor than that of the adrenaline rush he'd sported while trying to save his friends lives. He was scared; he was so freaking scared. They were chasing him - three burly red shirts all with scowls on their faces and curses on their lips.

The teen zipped around corners and narrowly missed colliding with a stray science officer or two, having enough courtesy to spare a breathless apology as he passed in a blur of black and gold. He didn't know what to do, didn't know where to go; his genius mind turning a mile a minute and still coming up empty. Nothing like this had happened since his third year in the Academy, everyone too busy trying to graduate to care about the young whiz-kid's presence. That was all fine and dandy by him; at least it kept the bullies away. And while it had only been 5 months since the Narada incident and Chekov was now a full fledged adult who was supposed to be beyond these kind of things, it didn't change the fact that he was still scrawny, still young, and still smarter than most of the engineers – save for Scotty – on the ship.

All he had done was point out that one of the men had done their circuitry equation for the cooling system incorrectly. He'd taken the PADD, shown them how to fix it, and advised them to use thicker wire for the current control bored or else the thinner wires would fry and could cause more work later. It was a rookie mistake, yes, but everyone makes them and it had been caught in time so no damage was done. He'd been helping. The others, however, didn't seem to think so and now the poor Russian teen sported a black-blue swollen shiner on his cheek for his troubles.

Rounding another corner, Chekov yelped in shock as he collided into the elegant frame of one lovely Nyota Uhura, sending them both sprawling onto the floor. The boy immediately pushed himself up, apologizing in a panicked slur of Russian-English as he tried to scramble away as the sound of heavy boot falls grew closer, but a strong hand latched onto the back of his uniform shirt before he could move and Pavel found himself slammed four feet off the ground against the wall behind them. The blast knocked the air from his lungs, leaving him gasping and sputtering before gagging in pain as a heavy fist japed into his gut.

"You little punk; you think just because you're a pampered little whiz-kid you can get away with saying anything you want, huh? Well, hate to disappoint you, Ensign, but most superiors don't take kindly to being showed up by a damn brat." Lieutenant Orland pressed the young man firmly against the wall with his burly forearm as he hissed in Chekov's face, sending saliva splashing against his none-swollen cheek. Uttering a terrified whimper and turning his head away, the boy struggled violently to break free from his captures.

"N-Nyet! I-I meent nu d-dizrezpeect…b-boot eet vas a r-rookey meesteek. M-meester S-Scott vood hawe yeeled at you fur eet. I-I vas just t-trying too h-heelp…" Pavel explained between gasping breathes, shrieking in pain as Lieutenant Richards back-handed him..

"You think making us look like morons in front of all of engineering his helping us?! God, for a prodigy you sure are stupid! What the fuck kind of excuse is that, kid?!" He growled.

"I-I am s-soory! I am soory!" Chekov cried, blood oozing down his chin from a split lip, "P-pleaze…stawp…"

"Not likely, Ensign. You've had it too easy on this ship; you're starting to get cocky. It's time for someone to teach you a good hard lesson so you'll stay on your leash at the captain's feet where you belong." Lieutenant Wallace grinned sickly and sinister and Pavel felt his heart sink to his stomach. He was done for. Richards raised a hand to smack him again and the boy quickly turned his head away, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation for the pain.

By the grace from above, a loud whistle rang through the hall and all three of the red shirts glanced over their shoulders, coming face to face with quite the pissed off Lieutenant Uhura; she'd regained herself from the collision with Chekov, having been dazed for merely a moment, but it had been too long of a moment for her tastes, evident by the burning hatred within her dark chocolate eyes. The lieutenant stood tall and straight, brushing the strands of her ponytail off her lean shoulder and placing both hands on her well shaped hips. The sneer that donned her glossed lips was fierce, warning, and seething – no one got away with messing with her family.

"Drop the boy right this instant or I swear to all that is holy, I will castrate you where you stand." she threatened, voice low and serious, and the men blinked at her once before laughing.

"What could a little thing like you do?" Richards stepped away from Pavel and over to the dark skinned female, standing at least 7 inches taller. "With all do respect, _Lieutenant_, I don't think a pretty face and some nasty words can hold up around here; you really should be running off to your little Vulcan boy-toy right about now and leave business to the real men, okay sweetheart?"

Uhura shook her head, chuckling darkly under her breathe before a dainty hand shot out and latched onto Richard's wrist; the other grabbed him under his arm and, with a quick pull, the red shirted brute was in the air, belly flopping onto the metallic floor with his arm bent behind his back, a cry of pain, and Uhura's boot keeping him in place. The two remaining men (and Chekov) watched in a mix of horror and shock as the woman took down someone thrice her size without so much as breaking a sweat.

Dark, angry eyes narrowed at the man beneath her, her teeth bearing in a low, animalistic growl. "Trust me, you wouldn't want me to go fetch my boyfriend, unless you have a death wish. Vulcan's aren't normally violent people, but you threaten their family and they will kill and make it look like it never happened. He could erase you from the realm of existence in less than a half minute and no one would be the wiser. Got that, _sweetheart?_" Richards nodded slowly, practically quaking in his own boots as he looked onto her with the fear of a ghost.

"Good. Now be a good boy and stay down," she stomped on his back for good measure and stood straight, sauntering over to the remaining men, "I'd advise the two of you to drop him, now, before I have to call the captain. And neither of you would really like that, would you?"

The two men shared a shocked look before Wallace scowled at her. "You expect us to believe that? You're a smart woman, Lieutenant; you know that you'd only be getting yourself in trouble as well for assaulting another officer."

Uhura chuckled, low and dark, and shook her head, reaching a hand up to pat the man's cheek. "Oh Wallace, get over yourself. Do you really think that you'll be let off scot free after assaulting an officer yourself? Not only that, but the navigator of Starfleet's flagship and one of Captain Kirk's best men? Kirk doesn't take nicely to bullies, ya know."

"You cocky little bitch," the man growled and pulled his hand back to nail her, but his elbow was grabbed and when Wallace looked over his shoulder, a fist collided with his face.

Richards sat up quickly, eyes wide with terror that mirrored that of Orland; Wallace held his cheek with an eye closed in pain and glanced over, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. There stood the Senior Staff, all wearing scowls and glares of hatred towards the three men; Sulu had his retractable sword out and a snarl on his face; Spock was stoic as always, but the fire burning in his eyes screamed the emotion raging through his stiff body; Bones was cracking his knuckles after the punch he'd landed on Wallace, a mirthful sneer on his face, boarding sadistic; and Kirk sauntered up to the men, arms crossed and a disapproving glower on his handsome face.

"You thought wrong, bastard," Uhura smirked, holding up her open communicator and snapping it shut with a satisfied hum.

"When did you…how could you…why you little…" Wallace growled, trying to take another swing at her until Spock grabbed hold of him and twisted both arms behind his back sharply.

"That would be a very illogical move, Lieutenant." Spock commented threateningly, making the man swallow hard.

Kirk made his way to Orland's side, blue eyes like frosted steel as he growled in a low, authoritative drawl, "Drop. Him. Now."

The man swallowed hard and nodded slowly, letting the boy drop to his feet. Kirk gently set his hand on Pavel's back, ushering him to Uhura's waiting arms where she cupped his face for a quick kiss to his swollen cheek before taking him to McCoy. The frosted glare was back only seconds later, scanning the three men like a vulture scans its prey.

"You three will be demoted and shuttled to the next ship heading to Earth. Sulu and Spock are going to escort you to the brig until then. And…" Kirk lowered his voice a bit to make sure only the three men, and Spock, could hear him. "You **ever**touch our little brother **ever** again and I will personally see to it that you are stripped of **everything **you care about before allowing my first officer, linguistics officer and helmsman slowly and painfully exact their revenge upon your sorry, pathetic lives. You saw what Lieutenant Uhura is capable of and she wasn't even trying. Do you really want to see what the Vulcan and samurai pilot can do?"

The three men shook their heads quickly and Kirk smiled in satisfaction, "I didn't think so."

Turning back, Kirk caught Spock's attention and jerked his head towards the three before heading back to the group. Half way there, Kirk paused, watching Pavel jump up and down while punching the air and reenacting the little scene while Bones struggled to scan the kid. Uhura was laughing and smiling and Kirk couldn't help but feel that Chekov's hero-worshipping just expanded times ten. He smiled softly; oh well, the more the merrier.


	3. There Are Some Things We Just Don't Know

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: Hey everyone! So this is set right after Into Darkness, like within the first month of the Five-Year Mission. :) It's mostly just fluff, but emotional informative fluff, I think. And anyone who says you can't sleep with a stuffed animal and still be a badass is WRONG. That its all. Thank you for your time. XD**

**Don't forget to review and drop some feedback, pretty please with Romulan Ale on top?**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

He blamed it on the drinks he'd had with Bones a few hours ago for keeping him awake, making sleep an impossible feat no matter how bone-tired he was. But he knew it was something else; something deep inside his gut that was preventing sleep from cloaking him in its blissful oblivion for the few measly hours the bridge crew was allotted for rest, and burned with an uncomfortable heat that refused to be ignored. So, that's how he found himself here; walking through the silent halls of the Federation Flagship, his ship, towards the bridge that at this time of synthetic night should be empty – only it wasn't.

Jim blinked furiously as the doors to the bridge slid open and dim white light assaulted his too-tired eyes, blinding him momentarily. The dull beeping and humming of the bridge's auto-pilot systems was disturbed with the soft whispering of a quiet voice, its owner's bare feet dangling over the arm of the captain's chair in the center of the room and catching Jim's immediate attention. The blond man raised both his eyebrows in interest, quickly shaking his head and making a mental note that he was spending too much time with Spock, before walking over to the occupant of _his _chair.

As he got closer, Jim realized the whispered words were in another language - one with a heavy accent and tight syllables - and as he peered over the back of the chair he was pleasantly surprised to find the one and only Russian whiz-kid occupying his seat. The kid was obviously so engrossed in whatever problem he was working out on his PADD he was blissfully unaware of the captain's presence; continuing to murmur in Russian to himself as he scribbled the tip of a stylus across the transparent screen. Dressed in light blue, planetary designed pajamas and donning sleep-mused curls, Jim could only assume the kid had stumbled in here on maybe a half hours worth of sleep, if that.

Shaking his head, the older man folded his arms on the back of the chair, resting his chin atop his forearm before humming lowly and smirking as Pavel jumped, "Found the meaning of life yet, kid?"

"Oh! Keptin!" the boy startled, exhausted grey eyes meeting calm blue as he looked up frantically, "I am sorry. I deed noot hear you coom een."

"I figured as much," Jim hummed, coming around to stand in front of his navigator, "Whatcha workin on?"

Pavel blinked at the man for a moment, his sleep deprived mind taking a few moments to process the question. "Oh!" he blinked and shook his head to focus, blushing as he held the PADD close to his chest, "Eet ees nozing, sor, joost a leetle…side prooject."

"Seems a little too secretive to be 'just a side project'," accused Jim as he reached over to grasp the top of the device, "Come on; let me see."

"Nyet," Pavel shook his head, keeping the PADD from Jim's grabbing hands. "Eet ees noot for ze eyes of ozers, Keptin."

"But I _am _your 'Keptin', so you have to let me see it." Jim joked and Pavel puffed his cheeks, blushing as he handed the PADD over.

"Doo not laugh…" he begged the blonde as blue eyes scanned the glowing blue screen and widened in shock.

"Laugh?" Jim was appalled, looking between his navigator and the electronic device in his hands, "This is freaking amazing, Pavel: layouts for re-designing the routing system for the warp drive, internal and external cooling agents for the core, even a new design for the core itself."

The man was thoroughly blown away, eyes scrolling over the designs and equations as his brain quickly tried to process it all, "Man, oh, man this is going to make Scotty piss himself, I swear. These equations are so intricate and the design looks almost flawless; this would have taken years…too…"

Jim paused, blinking as the hamster in his brain came full-circle and he peered around the screen to eye his young charge quizzically. "Pavel," he began slowly, "How long have you been working on this 'side project'?"

Caught mid-yawn, the boy shrank and smiled sheepishly, rubbing at his tired eyes to try and keep himself awake. "Fev days…meebe…"

"Days or _nights_?" he asked knowingly, frowning as the boy shrank a little more in the chair. Well, that explains a lot, no wonder the kid was so tired during their shifts. He hadn't been sleeping.

"I am sorry," Pavel apologized in the middle of a yawn, rubbing at his eyes again, "Ze idea struck fev nights ago, vhen I was about to fall as'eep, and I got so vapped up een eet I keept forgeeting to s'eep."

"That's not healthy," Jim reprimanded - despite knowing he was no better - as he tucked the PADD under his arm, "How'd you come up with this idea anyway?"

Pavel grinned tiredly, "Vearing ze redshirt has powers, Keptin…and…beeng een engineering a lot helps too."

The captain blinked before snorting and rolling his eyes – go figure. His crew was corrupting the kid one division at a time. Next thing he knows Pavel will be taking lessons from Bones on how to keep him from doing anything stupid. Like that will ever happen. Looking back, Jim snorted as his charge was beginning to doze in the chair, his chin against his chest, lips slightly parted and snoring softly.

"Alright kid, time to get you back to bed," Jim grunted as he gently lifted the young Ensign into his arms, shifting the drowsy teen around so his skinny arms could wrap lethargically around the older man's neck. Pavel murmured something sleepily in Russian before burrowing his curly head into Jim's shoulder. The man snorted quietly and adjusted his grip, disembarking from the bridge.

"Lights off," the captain whispered just as the turbo-lift doors slid shut.

The walk to Pavel's quarters wasn't too long, but much too quiet for Jim's taste. He was used to noise and action, it kept his mind busy; with only the soft breathing of the teen in his arms to keep him company, Jim's too-active brain was beginning to wander.

It was both curious and disconcerting, the lightness of the boy in his arms. Pavel was small, he knew; the baby of his ship, the hyper-active toddler of his crew, with the frailty of a sickly child and the abounding energy of a pup. He was the runt of their litter, the Hiccup - as Scotty's native tongue claimed - making it all the harder to believe that those tooth-pick arms around his neck had once saved him and the chief engineer from a deathly plunge only a year ago..

A year ago; now that was something he couldn't believe. It had only been one year ago when all hell had broken loose across Starfleet, and man did he have his regrets. So many officers, civilians, _people_, were lost. So much destruction was caused. And in the midst of it all, a war had been imminent, families were put at risk, and he had lost the one man he could ever _truly_ call a father. Damn, Pike must surly be wishing he could rip Jim a new one, he bet, after all that shit went down. Hell, Pike probably would have killed him a second time after the whole warp core fiasco if he'd had the chance.

And that's when it hit him harder than an angry Klingon charging at full speed - Pavel wasn't just 'toying' with layouts for a safer core; he was doing it to _protect_ Jim, to _protect _the crew. He wanted to prevent the core from ever breaking again, to prevent someone from ever being able to hack into their systems and destroy their connection to warp. He was trying to prevent their mission from ever repeating itself. He was trying, desperately, to gain control over something no one could have predicted. He was scared.

Jim mentally cursed himself for not putting the pieces together sooner, but again he blamed it on the drinks with Bones. While making a mental note to sit down and have a long talk with Pavel tomorrow (and persuade him to show the designs to Scotty, because _wow_), the blond overrode the pass code for Chekov's quarters and slipped quietly inside.

Normally, all officers with the ranking of **Ensign** were required to bunk in small quarters, therefore leaving room for higher ranking officers to have their own quarters. However, Kirk was never one for normalcy and, having no qualms of picking favorites, had allowed the teen the privilege of his own quarters (costume wired to understand Russian/English).

The room was surprisingly neat for a teenage boy, but seemed to not have been straightened in a while as Jim stepped over a few misplaced trinkets and thrown-about clothes on his way to the bed in the corner. With a soft grunt, the captain deposited the kid on the messy bed, rolling his eyes as he had to slip the boy's clasped hands over his head and gently placed them on Pavel's thin stomach. Chekov was completely gone to the world, snoozing softly with a pleasant smile on his lips and his closed eyes rolling around in the midst of a dream. Jim smiled softly and tucked the blankets around the boy's small body, placing a stuffed Sehlat from the floor beside him before brushing messy curls from his forehead to cheek his temperature - much like Sam once did for him, but those were memories he'd much rather not stir up.

Jim sighed through his nose at the thought and set the boy's PADD on the night stand, shaking his head as he turned to leave, but stopped as bony fingers latched firmly onto his wrist. Blinking, the captain glanced over his shoulder and found the boy still asleep. Raising an eyebrow, Jim tried to gently pry the kid's hand off his wrist, but it was too no avail. He sighed heavily, grumbling in annoyance under his breath until a harsh tug yanked on his wrist and sent him stumbling into the bed with a yelp.

Soon the blond found himself sprawled on his back with a curly head resting on his shoulder and a stuffed toy pinned to his chest by a scrawny arm. Pavel cuddled himself closer to the captain, smiling slightly in his sleep at the warmth coming from the body next to his. Jim inwardly groaned in defeat, blowing a stray piece of blond hair from his face before begrudgingly closing his eyes. Well, fuck it. He hadn't felt like walking all the way back to his quarters anyway.


	4. It's Just a Little Cold

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: Oh hey, would you look at that, another update. :) This thing is freaking 14 pages long. I had a lot of fun writing this, though. We finally have some Sulu and Scotty and Uhura and Spock and basically everyone. Also, just a heads up, but I'm probably not going to use Marcus in these. I may at some point, but I make no promises. I just favor the original guys better, with the exception of Pike just because he's an uber badass. Anyway, this is very fluffy as well, set...well let's say at the very beginning of their 5-year mission, kay?**

**Also, before I get questions, at the end Spock uses the word T'hy'la, which from a lot of the Spirk or Bones/Spock I've read people use it for its context of "Lover" however it also means "Friend" and "Brother". You can probably guess I'm going to use it in the "Brother" context. ^^ For all you Vet-Treks, you can just ignore this little explanation, because you guys prob know it all already. :) I just wanted to clear it up for the noobies like me.**

**Well, I hope you like this! Fanart is mucho appreciated and some requests might be cool to. I make no promises, but drop me a line and you might get a bite or two. :)**

**Don't forget to review and give feedback, pretty please with Romulan Ale on top?**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

Pavel Andreievich Chekov felt like complete and utter crap. There was no sugar coating the misery the boy felt: his whole body ached and burned, his stomach performed Russian acrobatics for the rest of his burning intestines, his head throbbed, his eyes hurt, his nose was stuffed up, throat sore, cheeks heated – it was pure, unadulterated hell. But none of that could even begin to compare to the overwhelming boredom that accompanied being detained in Sickbay. Now _that _was torture.

"Boot Keptin…" the boy whined weakly, his voice hoarse and strained, "Eet ees only a leetle cold…."

Bones snorted humorlessly as he listened to the kid's lungs, Kirk standing straight-backed next to the bio-bed with a stern expression on his face.

"What's the diagnosis, Doc?" Chekov frowned when the blond man ignored him and McCoy sighed heavily as he stepped back, picking up his PADD from the edge of the bed.

"Well, it would seem our little prodigy's got himself a case of the Levodian flu." He grunted, scribbling the diagnosis into Pavel's medical history. "Nurse Chapel's bringin' back a small prescription of antibiotics and I'm giving'em sick leave for the next three days."

"Three days?" Kirk raised an eyebrow, "I thought Levodian flu only lasted 24 hours."

"29," Bones corrected, "But this thing's got just'a much an ass-kick to it as our good ol' home flu does. He should start feelin' better by tomorrow, but since he's gotta weak immune system he'll be feelin' it for a while; I wanna play it safe so we don have a faintin' Russian on the bridge again."

Both men glared at Pavel and the boy shrank back, grinning sheepishly. It'd only been an hour into Alpha shift when the full effects of the virus had slammed the boy's under-developed system harder than he could withstand and sending him into a massive dizzy spell. Chekov thought he'd be able to breathe through it at his station, but Spock requested that the Ensign show him the new readings of a meteor they had recently discovered, requiring the boy to make the trip across the bridge to show him his PADD. Thinking he'd be fine, Pavel had stood up and walked over, only have his world spin and everything around him disappear. He'd woken up on the floor of the bridge, coughing from a stomach collision into one of the stations when he'd stumbled, with his head in Uhura's lap, Sulu's voice anchoring him to consciousness, Spock keeping his knees elevated, and Kirk calling for McCoy to get his ass up there pronto. So, it was obviously a scene none of the senior staff wanted an encore of.

"Alright then I'll contact Mister Riley to take over until he's better," Kirk nodded and Chekov groaned.

"Boot Keptin…I _do_ feel beeter…" whine Pavel as he turned his head away to cough into the elbow of his uniform.

Bones rolled his eyes and glared at the captain. "Dammit Jim, he's becomin' just as stubborn as you are!"

"Hey, it isn't my fault!" Jim held his hands up in mock surrender, smiling sheepishly. Bones turned back to the PADD, grumbling a quiet 'not yer fault my ass' under his breath.

Nurse Chapel strode up to the men soon after, handing the bottle of prescription antibiotics to Bones before whispering in his ear about there being another patient needing his attention. The man nodded curtly and thanked her, smiling slightly as she left. His scowl returned much too quickly, though, as Jim whistled after her and earned a none-too-gentle hypospray to the neck for his trouble.

"Gah! Dammit, Bones! You're supposed to be looking over Chekov, not me!" Jim snapped, wincing as he rotated his neck and rubbed at the injection sight. Bones smirked mirthfully.

"Ya haven't had yer vitamin injection yet today, yer welcome." he hummed, turning to the kid as Jim quietly cursed the doctor out. "Now, you take one of these ever four hours until the bottle is empty on a full stomach and with water, or else they'll tear yer insides up. They'll make ya tired, too, but you need all the rest ya can get so it shouldn' be a problem. Also, try'ta stick to broth, bread, and water for the next three days; it's easier to digest and shouldn't upset yer stomach. Speaking of which, ya got a nasty bruise from yer little fall earlier, so the spot'll be tender, but should heal up pretty quick."

The boy nodded obediently, figuring long by now that his fate was sealed, as he took the bottle from the doctor and curiously examined the bright blue pills inside. Bones nodded himself before turning to his best friend, scowling. "And you," he began sternly, "make sure Pavel gets back to his quarters without passin' out again. The last thing we need is a concussed and sickly navigator."

"Thanks, Bones." Jim smiled gratefully as he helped the Ensign slide off the bio-bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as Pavel leaned drowsily into his side.

Bones noticed the droop in the boy's demeanor and his dark brown eyes softened in sympathy, "Just make sure he gets some rest. I'll be by to check on him next time I have a free moment."

"Sure thing, Doc." the blond hummed and ushered his navigator out of Sickbay.

"And stop your crazy crew from corrupting the damn kid! He's the only one on this forsaken tin can I trust not to run us into some damn planet!" Bones shouted after them, receiving a two-fingered salute and a cocky smirk in return. The brunette sighed heavily through his nose and shook his head – he needed a drink.

* * *

Pavel groaned nasally as he flopped back against his pillow, arms out stretched and a tired glare burning into the metallic ceiling. He was _so_ bored! If being in Sickbay was torture, _this _was agony; he had nothing to do but lie around and sleep and be miserable and when he looked at the flashing red digits on his in-wall computer system it only read **0700**, meaning he had another 3 hours until he could take the second dose of medication and go back to sleep. Ugh, he was _so _going to die of boredom before then.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, startling the boy from his internal complaining and Pavel sniffled as he reached up to his intercom-system, pressing the button to open the door, figuring it was probably Doctor McCoy coming to check on him.

"Coome een…" Pavel croaked, folding his arm over his eyes and groaning miserably.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine this morning?" Sulu teased with a grin as he walked into the room, door sliding shut behind him. "Nice pjs by the way."

"'Karu? Vat are you dooing here?" Pavel blinked, propping himself up on his elbow as turned a confused look to his friend, ignoring the jab at his fleece planetary pjs.

"I came to keep my best buddy company, of course." The pilot chuckled as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled a pack of playing cards from his pocket. "The captain said you've got a case of the Ledovian flu, which from my experience is a hell of a lot worse than the human flu, so we decided to take turns during the shift to stay with you until your better."

Pavel blinked again and smiled weakly, his heart fluttering with warmth; he really did have the best family ever. They all had their own little quirks and differences, and have had their own fair share of fights, but when it came down to it, when it really mattered, they would do any and everything for each other – that was what family was truly about.

Reaching over and snatching the deck of cards from Hikaru, Pavel shuffled them and gave the pilot his best mischievous smile. "So…shall I beet you at Gen Roomy or Pooker? Your choice."

Hikaru blinked and barked a laugh, smirking slyly at his young friend, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket, Pasha. We're playing Black Jack."

"You're on."

So, in the end Sulu lost 60 rec room credits, three biscuits, four apple pieces and a churo to a kid with the Ledovian flu. He officially felt pathetic. Chekov on the other hand was perfectly pleased with himself, giggling away as he set down another perfect hand while munching on one of the bunny-shaped apple pieces the boys had on a plate resting on the bed. He was squeezing a cute Vulcan sehlat stuffed animal against his side, burying his face into its back to stifle more giggles as Sulu's face scrunched up in frustration.

"Okay, I think its time to give you your medication." The pilot decided, throwing his arms in the air and running his hands through his jet black hair in annoyance.

"Aw, doo not feel so bad, 'Karu. Eet ees only mathematics…." Pavel teased, his giggles breaking off into harsh coughs.

"Be careful, you could choke and we wouldn't want that to happen," Hikaru murmured sarcastically as he cleaned up the plate and cards from the boy's comforter.

"Soomoone ees a sore looser," Pavel grinned tiredly, resting his chin atop his stuffed sehalt's head.

Hikaru rolled his eyes good-naturedly and pointed a stern finger at the boy, "Watch yourself there, buddy; don't forget who your fencing teacher is. I could add an extra five reps to your routine once your better."

The boy gapped before pouting and burying his face into his stuffed animal again, "Soore looser…"

The helmsman snorted and disappeared into the private bathroom, returning with a glass of tap water. Pavel groaned, knowing what was coming next as his friend set the glass on the side table and retrieved a bright blue pill from the bottle, holding it and the glass out to the teen.

"Doo I hawe to…?" he whined and Sulu nodded.

"Doctor's orders and you'll be wise not to test this doctor, unless you want all your injections to be as painful as Jim's." Pavel considered the warning for a moment before quickly popping the pill into his mouth and downing half the water with it. The kid grimaced as he handed the glass back to his friend.

"Eet dissolwes reet on your tongue…tastes leek Roomuleen Ale….bleh…" Pavel shuttered and Sulu laughed lightly, setting the glass on the side table.

"Yeah and how would you know that?" He hummed, straightening the comforter.

"Beecoose ze keptin leet me try soome vhen ve got eet as a geeft froom a mession and eet tastes bleh," Pavel stated matter-of-factly, coughing into his palm.

Sulu shook his head as he walked back to the bathroom, "Of course it would be the captain to give our underage navigator illegal alcohol."

"18 ees legal, 'Karu…" the kid shot back drowsily, the medicine quickly taking effect.

Sulu quickly returned with a cold damp cloth which he draped over his friend's heated forehead and hummed in sarcastic agreement. "Okay, whatever you say, Pasha. I need to head back to the bridge, but someone else should be here by the time you wake up."

Only getting a sleepy grunt in return, Hikaru smiled, knowing Pavel would be out like a light in seconds. He cleaned up the rest of the mess they had made before heading to the door, whispering to the computer to turn the lights off as it opened. Before the door closed, Sulu spared one more glance over his shoulder at his little brother and smiled fondly.

"Get well soon, little Pavel."

* * *

An hour or two after Sulu left, it was Scotty who came to take his place bringing a plate with two rolls and a sandwich (for himself, of course) and bearing a big bright smile.

"How'ya holdin up'ere, laddie?" the Scotsman asked as the door slid closed and he made his way to the teen's side. Pavel gapped in shock as he looked up from a document he had been reading, or _trying_ to read, on his PADD, watching him sit on the edge of the bed.

"Vat are you dooing here, Meester Scott?" the teen asked, furrowing his eyebrows worriedly, "Engineering ees always so beesy-"

"Ah, don'ya worry bout that there, lad." Scotty cut him off, setting his plate on the side table before claiming his sandwhich and taking a large bite, "Our fairy lady's all tuned'up and shipshape, there ain't nothing ta worry 'bout. Besides, got Keenser keeping an eye on everythin while I'm spending time with ya." The man nodded to himself as if to validate what he was saying, taking another bite of his lunch, "We miss'ur we helper terribly though; gotten too use ta ya Russian lessons, it seems. Quiet without a lil' hummin' and murmurin' down there; our girl misses it to, can hear it in her purr."

Pavel smiled brightly, his heart fluttering at the thought of being so important, so needed – it made him feel special. "Ze doctoor has poot me on zree day leawe, boot I vill geet beeter quickly, proomise."

Scotty laughed as he finished off his sandwich, shaking his head in amusement and whipping his hands off on his black pants, "Ye jus' focus on getting better, lad, ya hear? We'cun hold down the fort till then."

He nodded appreciatively and smiled, inquiring about how things were going down in engineering in the meantime. This launched Scotty into a long winded rant about his fellow red shirts, praising some for their expertise and wondering how the hell others even made it out of the Academy with their degrees. Though, sometime in the middle of it, they got off track and began regaling tales of their missed homelands.

Even while sick Chekov was still a big bouncing ball of enthusiastic energy, raving about his beloved babushka and kind-hearted mother. Almost everyone in the Senior Staff knew that Chekov's father had left when he was younger and his mother had always been a very sickly woman, a trait sadly passed to her only son, leaving his grandmother to be the most stable mentor in his life.

She took care of him and played with him, even taught him about the things she'd seen in her own Starfleet days; she'd been a traveler at 14, when he parents divorced and she refused to pick a side, had seen the entire world and spoken every language, learned every culture. But she wanted more and after depleting all that Earth had to offer, she set out to join Starfleet, dreaming of the expeditions that awaited in the numerous galaxies beyond. However, at 19, just before a long mission on the USS Nova, his grandmother became pregnant with Pavel's mother and during the journey they were hit by an ion storm while his grandmother and her team were beaming down to a planet. This disturbed the development of his mother, resulting in her frailty and un-developed immunity.

Doctors had told his mother once she got older that due to her weak body, she wouldn't be able to sustain a child, but the women of his family were _very_ stubborn and through many trial and errors, she was finally able to have Pavel. However, there were complications and he was born premature, very small and with an un-developed immunity.

Pave's mother loved him to death, though the birth had permanently weakened her, and he would do just about anything if the woman asked him to. It had definitely been a hard decision on all of them when the boy decided to follow his grandmother's footsteps and join Starfleet, especially when money was needed for his mother, but he frequently spoke with her whenever they had the chance to contact home. He always requested a gift to be brought back from diplomacy missions for her, too; Jim and Hikaru were always the biggest gift givers and everyone on the Senior Bridge Crew, even McCoy and Scotty, would write letters to send with the bi-monthly care package Pavel always made for the two women.

Scotty was much like that with his own mother, though had a closer relationship to his father. He came from a pretty stable home, being the middle child of three boys, and had fond memories of many after school rugby fights and the concussions that followed. As he got older, Scotty realized he wanted more adventure in his life and so decided to join Starfleet. His father wanted him to become a Captain, but Scotty preferred getting his hands dirty under the engines of a Starship, rather than controlling her.

Pavel sat back and listened contently to Scotty's exciting stories, gnawing on his second roll and eyes glittering with glee as the man waved his hands around in his regale. It was captivating and made the teen laugh and giggle and stare in awe – then came the wall.

Scotty had been in the middle of quit the scandalous story of a girl whom he'd fallen madly in love with while in Aberdeen, when he noticed the sudden change in demeanor. He furrowed his brows in concern and moved closer to the teen, putting a comforting hand on his hunching back, "Ye,'kay, lad?"

"Nyet…dizzy…" the boy half-panted, pressing his cheek into the head of his furry friend and closing his eyes to try and catch his winded breath.

"'ere, I'll get ya're medicine," the Scotsman said softly, quickly standing and disappearing into the bathroom, coming back with a glass of tap water and retrieving one of the blue pills.

Pavel popped it in his mouth and sipped just enough water to help it go down, before sliding under his comforter and curling into a little ball, burrowing his face into the pillow.

"Jus' rest, laddie; ya feel betteh soon," the Scotsman whispered reassuringly as the boy willed himself to sleep.

* * *

The next time Pavel opened his eyes it was to the sound of soft humming, like a lullaby, and a cold hand resting against his burning forehead. Sniffling, the boy cracked his too-heavy eyes open and was met with a lithe foggy figure; long fingers were brushing through his damp curly hair, the feeling so familiar and so comforting.

"Mama…?" he questioned hoarsely and the humming immediately stopped.

"No sweetie, it's Nyota." Blinking a few times, Pavel cleared his hazed vision enough to make out the dark skinned woman seated on the edge of his bed with worry in her eyes, but a soft smile on her lips and blushed darkly as he realized his mistake.

"Ah…I am sorry…Mama used to zing leek zat fer me back home…" the boy explained, propping himself up on his elbow as he coughed into his hand.

Nyota shook her head with a light giggle, brushing some of Pavel's messy hair from his face. "It's fine, my mom used to sing to me when I fell sick too. It's a just a little habit I picked up from her. I'm sorry if that woke you."

"Nyet…it vas neec…ze heat ees vat voke me up…" the boy breathed heavily as he sat up and leaned back against his pillow, fanning his sweaty face with his hand.

The woman nodded sympathetically, "Scotty told me you weren't feeling good before he left and Sulu said that this thing can get worse way before it gets better. When he had it he said towards the middle of the day he felt like he'd hit a wall, got really weak and achy."

Pavel nodded; that was _exactly _how he was feeling now. It was almost as if his body was trying to cook itself from the inside out. He groaned pathetically before hiccupping and his eyes widened, a hand slapping to his mouth.

"Pasha?" she questioned worriedly, yelping and leaning back as the boy scrambled from his bed and bolted to the bathroom. Nyota cringed, listening to the sound of violent retching and hiccupping coughs as her poor charge spilt his insides into the toilet, and hurried in after him.

The navigator was sitting on the floor with an arm resting on the edge of the toilet seat and his cheek upon his forearm, nasally groaning as he cradled his stomach. Nyota cooed softly, dampening a fresh cloth in cold water before kneeling next to her brother and whipping clean his sweat soaked face. Pavel moaned, swallowing in an attempt to rid the horrid taste from his mouth and to try to keep the next bout of nausea at bay, breathing heavily through both his stuffy nose and cottony mouth.

"You're a mess," she sighed and kissed the boy's damp curls, only receiving a weak moan in response. "Think you're done?"

"Meybe…" he answered breathlessly, sitting back as Nyota flushed the mess through the sewage shoot.

"Eet feels…leek a star has…exploded en my stoomak…" the boy whined and Nyota sighed, rubbing his back soothingly.

"I know sweetie, but it'll go away soon." She reassured and set the cloth back on the bathroom counter before carefully sliding her arms around Pavel's waist, helping him stand.

"Alright, let's brush your teeth and we'll see what can be done about getting you a bath to lower that fever. Kay?" She hummed kindly, keeping a sturdy grip on the boy as she helped him to the counter.

It was a struggle, but an hour and a few episodes later the linguistics officer finally managed to get the boy cleaned up and in a fresh pair of light weight dark green pajamas before settling him back in bed with fresh sheets. Uhura had also managed to coax the teen into drinking half a bowl of clear broth to replenish the liquids he'd lost and to have something in his stomach for his medication. In the end, Pavel wasn't the only one exhausted.

Sighing heavily, Nyota sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head, "It's always the most tiring jobs that get pushed onto the women."

"I am….sorry Lieutenant…for boothering you so…" Pavel murmured sadly and Uhura blinked, shaking her head quickly.

"No no no, sweetie, its fine," she reassured with a loving smile. "Taking care of you is _never _a bother; I wanted to, honest. It's just been a long day. But I wouldn't dream of doing anything else right now then being here with you, so it's no trouble. I'm sorry for making you think that."

"I am…sorry for theenking eet…" the boy supplied and in return the woman laughed, making him smile weakly. "Eef I may…cen I esk…a fawor…?"

Nyota smiled, "Anything."

A soft blush spread on his cheeks, "Vood you…sing for me? Eef you doo not mind…"

Uhura blinked in shock and averted her eyes, blushing slightly. "Oh um…well, sure, if you want. I don't know any Russian lullaby's though."

"Eet ees okie…enyzing ees fine…" he murmured sleepily, sinking further into his pillow and hugging the stuffed sehlat close. The older woman shook her head and closed her eyes before beginning to sing softly a song her mother once sang to her. Pavel listened to the beautiful voice of his friend, feeling the warmth of the melody seep into his body, steadying his heart and evening his breathing.

By the time Uhura had finished the lullaby, she was pleased to see the boy was already fast asleep. She smiled softly and brushed away a few ringlets of clean curls before placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Get well soon, Pasha."

* * *

**_Game Over_**

Jim whined loudly in annoyance and tossed the controller to the other side of the bed, glaring at Pavel as the boy snickered at his fifth win. They were playing video games on the in-wall computer screen, Jim having rigid it to be compatible with the programs he kept on a disk, and the older man was epicly getting his butt whooped.

"You've got a fever, how the hell can you think clearly enough to out-smart my strategy?" Jim grumbled sourly and Pavel shrugged.

"You joost soock at eet, I am sorry..." He smirked at Jim's frustrated expression before yelping as the man captured his nose between his pointer and middle finger, wiggling it back and forth before finally letting go. Pavel sniffled and held his red nose, glaring at his older brother.

"Hey!" the boy whined and Jim laughed lightly.

"By the way, how'ya feelin, squirt?" he asked as he turned the game off; Pavel thought about it for a moment before shrugging.

"A leetle beeter…ze game kept my meend off eet. I am joost tired and hot…" he admitted, pulling at the chest of his shirt to fan some air against his face.

Jim nodded sympathetically, "I know how you feel. I've been through the Levodian flu seven times already and it sucks."

"Seeven times…?" Pavel blinked in shock and Jim nodded.

"Yep," he grinned, "You're not the only one with a shotty immune system, kiddo. It also doesn't help that I'm highly allergic to the vaccine to prevent it, too."

"Yer allergic to life, Jim; you're the reason our database is so up to date." Bones grumbled as he walked into Pavel's quarters with his black medic bag in tow. The kid startled at the doctor's sudden entrance, but Jim just smiled lazily.

"Heyya Bonesy, bout time you got here." He said cheekily and chuckled at the glare he received in return.

"I told ya to make sure the kid got some rest, not work'em up on damn video games." The doctor reprimanded as way of greeting, pointing at the controllers beside Pavel's legs.

Pavel smiled sheepishly, "I vas boored, sor…"

"You're supposed to be sleeping, kid, that keeps you from being bored." Bones sighed heavily, shoving Jim out of the way when he came up to the kid's side.

"Jerk!" Jim yelped when he was pushed off the bed, Bones medical bag taking his spot.

"Quit your whining before I have to hypo your ass again. I'm already gonna have ta give ya some antibiotics to make sure ya don't catch this again." The brunette grumbled, rummaging through his bag for the instruments he needed. Pavel snickered hoarsely at the men's antics only to be silenced by a thermometer being shoved into his mouth.

Jim crossed his legs on the floor, grasping onto his ankles as he watched the doctor work and arched a confused eyebrow at the man, "You know that Tricorders read heat signatures, right? You don't need to use that old fashion junk."

"I don't like relying on technology ta do everything," Bones snapped. "Besides, old fashion is always accurate."

"So are Tricorders," Jim grumbled, wincing when he got a hypo to the neck. "Dammit Bones!"

The doctor whistled innocently, turning his attention back to the boy and beginning his examination. It didn't take long to run through protocols and the thermometer just began to beep as Bones stuffed his stethoscope into his bag, but the readings were less than pleasing to the doctor. McCoy pressed a button on the device, sending the readings to his PADD, which he scrolled through and frowned at before setting the devices aside and setting his own hand on the boy's forehead. Pavel blinked as the hands moved down to his cheeks, then cupped his jaw before they were taken away and Bones sighed heavily.

"Well, ain't that just freaking perfect." He grumbled, picking up the bottle of pills he'd prescribed for Chekov and looking over Chapel's writing on the back.

"What's wrong, Bones?" Jim asked with a worried frown and the man sighed again.

"His fevers gone up, it's not _supposed_ to go up. The medication was _supposed_ to stop the disease from getting to its peek, but it's not. Just goes to show you how wrong science can be." Bones shook his head and rummaged through his bag, pulling out a hypo and attaching a blue vial to it.

The boy frowned, knowing what was coming next and obediently moving the collar of his shirt out of the way. Bones placed a hand over the boy's, watching as he clutched his stuffed toy close and Jim put a comforting hand on Pavel's knee.

"Take a deep breath, kid." Bones instructed and the teen did as told, cringing when the hypo shot into his neck. The doctor patted his shoulder gently and helped him lie down before the medicine could knock him out, stuffing the used hypo into his bag. The trusty Tricorder was produced moments later and Bones ran a scan and pressed a few buttons before turning to Jim.

"I've given him an injection of his medication which should help lower the temperature, but it's a light dose; I didn't want to risk adding too much to his system with the last dose still running through. Hopefully he'll sleep through the night, but if anything changes I want you to call me, got it?" The doctor instructed as he packed up his stuff and the captain nodded.

"I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry Bones." Jim reassured and the man nodded, heading to the door. Bones stopped short though and turned back, pointing an accusatory finger at his friend.

"And make sure to tell the damned hobgoblin, too. I don't want anymore trouble than there needs to be on my hands tonight." Jim chuckled and waved his friend off, smiling in amusement.

"I'll tell him. Thanks again, Bones." The captain hummed and his friend blushed slightly.

"Yeah well…it's my job, ain't it? The kid's so much like you, I swear yall are related, both with allergies up the wazzoo and a crap immune system to boot. Some ones gotta keep yall from killing yourselves."

Jim smiled genuinely at the man, standing up and giving him a one armed hug, "Wouldn't want it to be anyone but you, anyway, you grumpy old bear."

"Shove off, you brat," Bones smiled slightly and pushed the other man off as he left the room. Once the door closed, the doctor couldn't help his smile from growing just a touch more as he walked down the silent hall; his little brother was in good hands.

* * *

The room was dark the next time he came to, blinking tired eyes at the shadowed ceiling. He felt weighty and drugged, but blessedly cooler. A faint dawning thought that the captain had lowered the temperature in his room considerably, came to mind, he'd have to let Jim beat him in a game of Tri-chess at some point as repayment.

As awareness slowly broke through the haze of illness Pavel noticed there was another presence in the room, indicated by the blue hued light reflecting off the far wall. He turned his head and was surprised to find Spock sitting at the desk with his back turned to the bed and his face glowing in the blue light of his PADD. It was both touching and mildly interesting that the Vulcan man had volunteered to take the night shift in watching over the Ensign – Pavel always thought the man didn't like him much.

"Ask per doctor's orders, it is wise for those infected with bacterium to go back to sleep, instead of staring at their overseer." The calm, monotonous voice practically made the teen jump out of his skin, a light blush forming on his already flushed cheeks.

"Ah…sorry Coomander…" Pavel apologized, turning onto his side towards the man and hiding slightly behind his sehlat. There was a sigh before the science officer set his PADD down and appeared by the teen's side, startling him yet again as he set a hand on the boy's forehead.

"It does not appear that your body heat has risen beyond a concerning temperature. How do you feel, Pavel?" Spock asked in what seemed to be a kindly tone. It took the young man a few seconds to decide if he was hallucinating or not before he finally registered the question.

"Oh…ah…fine…beeter…I guess…" he murmured awkwardly, shifting around under the comforter again and making a small yelping sound when his toy rolled off the edge of the bed.

Spock knelt down and picked up the stuffed alien bear, carefully sitting down on the edge of the bed as he examined it. His long, pale fingers ran over the worn fur of the creature and the faintest hint of a smile touched his lips.

"It's quite illogical for someone of legal age to be in the possession of such an item that is normally reserved for young children." He stated bluntly and Pavel blushed deeply, preparing to defend himself when the man spoke again, "But it is difficult to dismiss something that holds a part of ones past, ones home; an illogical feeling, sentimentality, but an oddly righteous feeling, too."

Pavel carefully took hold of the stuffed toy when Spock handed it back and the teen gazed lazily over the fur and horns and beady black eyes before asking, "Deed you hawe one as a child…Coomander?"

Silence fell between the two of them and Pavel quickly realized how personal his question had been. Blushing, the boy started to take it back, but Spock leaned his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands with his index fingers pressed together and nodded.

"Yes, I did." He answered with a fond look on his face. "It was a gift from my mother and something I cherished for many years."

Pavel smiled, but then Spock shook his head, "It was a silly indulgence though and my father gave it away once I reached the age of 6. Such things only distracted one from their studies and weighed one down from their true potential."

And there went the warm fuzzies in Pavel's chest. He frowned and looked at his sehlat cautiously before holding it close. "I am…soory I asked."

Spock shrugged, "It was a valid inquiry. Though, now young Ensigns with the Levodian flu have medication to take and rest to be sought."

It took all the energy Pavel had, which wasn't much, to keep himself from groaning at the thought of the awful tasting pills. There was only one dosage left though, so he quickly swallowed it with the water he was given and vowed to never have to take that disgusting junk again.

After he lay down and Spock pulled the boy's comforter up to his shoulder and the medicine started to take effect, Pavel suddenly felt kind of lonely. He didn't know why it suddenly hit, but it did and between the fever and the medication he really didn't care how he satisfied it.

Taking a slow breath to gather what numb bravery he could, Pavel looked up at the older Vulcan. "Coomander…may I ask a fawor…?"

"Certainly, Pavel." The man nodded.

The teen shifted a little on his side and his small hand popped out from the side of the comforter, "Vood you….hold my hand…?"

Spock stiffened at the request, frowning slightly. "That's quit the illogical request, Pavel, as you are not a child in which such actions would be considered common. You are legally an adult and in Vulcan culture such expressions are, as you earthlings say, quite strange."

He'd known the request was going to get shot down, but that didn't mean the rejection hurt less. It was silly depression, though, and a silly request. Of course a Vulcan isn't going to hold his hand, that's stupid. It was probably one of the most stupid things he'd said to the man.

Being a hormonal teen in his off again on again depression phase with a raging fever and an already tight-lined relationship with Spock made for not the most unpleasant knot in his stomach. Great, now the man not only thought of his as an over zealous child, but probably thought of him as a weirdo too. That was just perfect. He was never going to live this down.

"You are reet…I am soory to have asked…Coomander…Good night…" the boy murmured softly, not trusting his hoarse voice to not break with silly emotion, and closed his eyes, willing sleep to hurry and wash the events of his stupidity away. Pavel was half-asleep when he felt a distant depression in the side of his bed and a cold hand practically engulfed his, the thumb rubbing a soft line into the back of his palm.

"Quite illogical, but eet is what earth families do, I suppose." Spock's voice whispered and Pavel smiled slightly as sleep finally consumed his mind, the reassurance of another person residing in the growing warmth on his hand.

"Rest well, young T'hy'la."


	5. All for One and One for All

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: Yay for staying up until 4 in the morning writing an installment! It doesn't help that I have to go to work tomorrow though...oh well~. So, this is mostly Jim-centered and set between Post-Narada Pre-Khan. This was kind of just a random idea that came into my head and also it isn't proof read because I'm too tired to go back through it, so you get the raw version. This installment was really hard, because I had a whole epicly long one-shot basically almost completely written but I ended up hating it and throwing it out and then being left without a clue of what to do. So, yeah...that kinda tells everyone I would highly appreciate some requests or things you'd like to see because they help a lot. Just let me know and I'll try to see what I can do.**

**Don't forget to review and give feedback, pretty please with Romulan Ale on top?**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

Jim slapped his ID down on the counter with his trade mark eat-shit grin and winked at the lovely waitress before him. "I need two chilled Budweiser classics, a Brandy, Vodka, and a Scotch on the rocks, one Cardassian sunrise, two Stardusters, oh and uh, a Vulcan spice tea. Put it on the tab under James T. Kirk."

The woman smiled fondly and nodded, walking off to make the drinks as the captain strode back to his booth. He couldn't help but let his smile broaden at the sight of his crew having a good time: Bones and Christine were chatting about a medical conference they had just gone to the other day, Scotty was talking animatedly to Keenser about the beautiful layout of their lovely lady _Enterprise_ and Spock seemed content with watching Sulu, Chekov and Nyota as they danced to the blaring music.

Chuckling, the blond captain came to stand beside his seated first officer, leaning against the edge of the booth as he crossed his arms and watched their friends make fools of themselves. "So, how did _that_ end up happening?"

"Pavel is not one to sit still for long, as you well know, and had requested for Hikaru to join him in a dance. Nyota found the suggestion pleasing and so joined in. She had requested for me to join her, but I do not understand the human form of dance insisting I preferred to remain here and observe." the Vulcan shrugged, sitting a little straighter in his seat and messing with the heavy scarf around his neck.

Jim nodded in understanding, chuckling again as Pavel tried to do a spin and ended up falling flat on his back, Sulu and Nyota laughing as they helped him up. Everyone was in civilian clothing (giving their uniforms a break for once) so it was interesting to see the different styles of their creative crew. Spock was wearing a black long sleeve with a matching jacket, black pants, brown shoes, and a fringed black and white checkered scarf around his neck; Bones chose a black and grey t-shirt under a grey sweater and his old loose jeans with his cowboy boots; Christine sported a cute and flowing dark blue dress with a black belt around the waist and blue heels; Scotty donned a red Hawaiian shirt, beige kaki's and brown moccasin shoes; Sulu was wearing a simple dark blue button up with jeans and black shoes; Nyota had on a gorgeous little black and white fitted dress with her hair down and curled and black heels; Pavel donned a simple pair of dark jeans with a dark green button up and sneakers: and Jim himself was wearing his customary trouble-making get up of jeans, his cowboy boots, and a light grey long sleeve under his black leather jacket.

"You know, it's nice to give everyone a little break from the rules and regulations of Starfleet and let them just have fun." Jim mused, thanking the waitress as she came to deliver their drinks. The blond popped the cap of his beer with his thumb, taking a long swig before grinning at his Vulcan friend. "We need to find out a way to do this more often."

"That is highly illogical, Captain." Spock raised an eyebrow as he sipped at his tea, "We are only allotted shore leave when the opportunity arises and that in itself is scarce and unpredictable."

Jim rolled his eyes, motioning their three friends from the dance floor over to the table. "I know, I know, but we should think of something to ease it up for everyone a bit. I know I've only been captain for a few months, but seriously, I hate how everything feels so stiff. It's already taken forever for everyone to warm up to each other so we could _at least _get on a first name basis; there just has to be something else we can do to make things a little more relaxed."

"Captain, I find that notion quite destructive in the notion that-"

"Oh _gosh_, Jim, I can't walk away five minutes without you two starting an argument." Nyota groaned as she and the boys came over, sliding into her spot as Spock moved. "Can't we go just one day without the two of you finding something to disagree on?"

"Da, I agree. Ve are to be hawing fun, noot tooking of vork," Pavel nodded, his hazel curls bouncing on his head as he grabbed his Vodka and downed half of it like a shot.

Jim chuckled and took another swig of his drink, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Just don't forget who your captain is and who's paying for these drinks."

"Aye, sir!" Pavel squeaked happily, downing the rest of his drink before Sulu had even sipped his.

"Ie, ya shouldn' be drinkin' that there soda pop so quick, laddie. Ye'll be down and under right quick if ya do," Scotty commented from across the table as he sipped his Scotch.

Pavel snorted, "Wodak ees no _soda pop_. Eet ees beeter zan zat _zing_ you ees drenking."

Scotty choked on his drink, Christine patting his back as he coughed before he glared at Pavel, "Escuse me, laddie? I'll have ye know that Scotch ees de drink of de champs in me country."

The kid laughed humorlessly, eyeing Scotty, "Eet vas inwented by a leetle old lady in Leningrad."

Jim nearly snorted out his beer as he doubled over laughing, the table roaring after the teen's statement; even Scotty was holding his gut with laughter. They could feel the confused eyes of the people around them, but no one really cared. They had each other, who cared about what everyone else thought?

After the laughter died down and everyone got themselves re-arranged in the booth they settled down for a long chat. It was about anything, really, no topic just random stories that the others felt like sharing. Most of them happened to be about everyone's pasts, though the dynamic trio kept their mouths shut and listened, not willing to spill any details about their blackened lives though most of it was already known.

Sulu talked about his childhood here in the city with his mother and father and two older brothers. It was the standard getting picked on the older siblings and having to meet expectations sort of life, but one thing the crew never knew about him was the one thing that explained _a lot_ – he had a track record. It wasn't bad, or anything like that, but he did have one. It was mostly for fights in school and a little bit of graffiti here and there. His parents hadn't been too happy though and tried sending him to a therapist to get things worked out, which it didn't, but the lady had been nice. That's when his brothers finally convinced their father into letting him join their fencing team. Now_ that_ did him a world of good. He got his ass handed to him so many times within the first few weeks it was pathetic, but what encouraged him to get better. The beatings helped him to get stronger and eventually he was so focused on trying to beat his brothers in a duel that he didn't have _time_ to think about his old habits and they eventually went away. It didn't clear his track record though, but hey, at least he can kick anyone's ass with a sword.

Nyota was next, talking about her beloved father who was basically her whole world (aside from Spock). Her mother had passed from illness when she was born, but her father dutifully raised her in the woman's image. Her father _loved _to travel and since he couldn't bear the idea of staying in one place for too long, he decided to travel the world and bring Nyota with him. That was how her love for languages started. She had to learn to speak so many because of all the different places they lived that it just became second nature. But like with all good things there were setbacks, mainly with school. They would only stay in one place for roughly two to three months so every time Nyota had begun to make friends, she'd have to leave them. With the way technology had advanced it was easy to keep in contact, but after a while they would get bored and go about their own lives so she always left with no one but her father.

Christine didn't have much to say about her life, other than that she grew up like any other middle class American, joined Starfleet for its free nursing program to save herself the hell of student debt, got stuck partnering up with McCoy through almost every class (though she was the one who ended up having to do most of the dissections because Bones got squeamish. Jim laughed at that and earned a slap on the head for his trouble.), and once she was stationed on the _Enterprise_with Bones she knew she couldn't leave or else he'd fall apart without her.

They were 5 rounds in and more than a bit tipsy, when Jim excused himself for a sixth beer (pointedly ignoring Bones' grumbling indignation) and sauntered over to the bar to grin at their pretty waitress. He winked at her when another cold bottle was pressed into his hand and he flirted her up for a moment before walking back, popping the cap as he went.

"Well, if it ain't the lazy ass juvenile delinquent my dear baby sister gave birth to. Shouldn't you be in _jail_ or somethin', Kirk?" Jim immediately felt his blood run cold at the _too_ familiar voice, slowly turning his head to meet the scowling face of his Uncle Frank.

"What the hell are you _doing_ here?" Jim growled lowering his beer and feeling the concerned eyes of his friend's on his back.

"What the hell are you doin' here, kid? You think ya can just run off like that and not tell your mother? She hasn't heard from you in four fucking years and here you're demandin' to know why _I'm _here?" The gruff man snorted and stood up, towering over the blond. Frank was still several heads taller than Jim and – as much as he hated to admit it – he felt like a defiant child again. He wouldn't let _him_ know that, of course, so Jim squared his shoulders and stood straight, glaring the man straight in the eye.

"Yeah, I am." Jim hissed. "Your ass should be back in Iowa where it belongs. I don't have time to deal with your shit, okay? Now get out of my life and stay out."

The blond man turned to walk back to his table, only to be yanked back by a rough hand and have Frank's face shoved into his.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do, you little punk! After the shit you caused, after the shit you caused your damn _mother_, you don't have the _right_ to tell me what to do." He growled. "Do you have any idea how fucking upset Winona was to find out you were enrolled in Starfleet? Ya never said a damn thing! Just walked out that night and never came back. How the fuck did a grungy little punk like you get in there, huh? Was it by usin' your filthy daddy's name? You bribed them or somethin' didn't ya?"

White hot anger flared in Jim's eyes and he grit his teeth, trying his damnnest not to beat the crap out of the man in front of him right now. "Don't you _dare_ say anything about my father like that, you got that!? He was a great man, a better fucking man than you will ever be! Now, I'm going to give you one warning; let me go and leave me alone, if you don't it will be considered an assault against a Starfleet captain, punishable under a federal offense."

Frank barked a disgusted laugh, sneering at Jim as he tightened his grip on his shirt, "_You_, a captain? You're kidding me! Do they let just any idiot walk in on one of those tin cans? What, they give you your own ship because your daddy was captain for 12 fucking minutes? Was it pity for George bein' a dumbass and lettin' himself be blown to bits? You are _no_ captain, Kirk. You're nothin' but a country washout who's lookin for a little thrill. You ain't worth two shits, boy. You may have a brain of a genius, but you've got an attitude from hell and are the worst son-of-a-bitch I've ever know. You need to be back crawlin' in the dirt where _you_ belong and not out tryin' to get innocent people killed. Ya ain't worth that chair nor that title, it's just wasted power goin' to fuel that damned disgusting ego of yers. I thought Tarsus was gonna change that, but obviously your little drip didn't do its purpose."

Jim felt his entire body go rigid and suddenly felt _very_ sick to his stomach. The bottle in his hand dropped to the floor, shattering to pieces and he drew his hand back to nail the bastard in the face, but another hand flew out in front of him and nailed Frank in the nose before Jim could even process it.

Frank howled in pain and shoved Jim back, the blond stumbling until his back found stability against two strong chests. If Bones and Spock where behind him, then who…Kirk's eyes widened as he saw a panting Pavel standing in front of him, his hand balled in a shaking fist and his large eyes filled with so much hatred he almost looked demonic.

"You little punk!" Frank spat and took a swing at the kid, but Chekov ducked under the punch and jumped back up, bringing his fist into an uppercut on the man's chin before jabbing him five times in the gut and side-kicking him to the ground. Frank stumbled back, toppling over a table before falling to the ground with a groan.

"Doon't you _ewer_ dare say soomzing leek zat to ze Keptin, again! He ees a greet man and has saved meeny lives, enclooding Earz and he has moore zan earned ze title he bears! Kork ees a hero and a lowing freend to our crev; he ees vat hoolds our famoly together and vood go to ze ends of ze galoxy for any oof us! Zat ees moore zan vun cood say aboot you, you pompus mudak! You understand nozing oof ze Keptin or ze troobles he has had too deal vis; _you_ are ze punk vho needs too be taught a leeson! You are nozing boot a jowinile chiold and hawe no reet to speek to our Keptin, you soon-of-a-beetch!" Pavel roared angrily (albeit drunkenly), heaving heavy breathes from the exertion.

Frank sat up and touched his broken nose, wincing, and growled angrily before lashing out and nailing the teen in the stomach. Pavel gagged and stumbled back, Bones catching him before he could fall to the ground. The kid clutched at his stomach and Bones' shirt, trying desperately to gasp in air; tears of pain spilled down his face as Nyota came over, fussing like a mother hen and Jim snapped.

Shrugging Spock's hands off his arms, the captain stormed over Frank and nailed him across the face before shoving him against the wall by his throat and growling borderline animalistic. "Don't you _ever_ fucking dare lay a hand on my crew, you bastard! If you ever so much as _touch_ my friends again, I will _personally_ kill you and make it look like you never fucking existed!"

"Jim, I do believe you have gone far enough." Spock advised, dragging Jim from his protective rampage. The blond blinked and noticed how hard he was choking Frank – the man could barely breathe – and scoffed in disgust before dropping him back to his feet and turning away.

"Sulu, Scotty, escort this man outside and make sure he gets handled by the authorities. Christine, please go inform the manager that all damages are to be put on my tab." Jim ordered and the crew spurred into work.

Sulu and Scotty flanked Frank and snatched him by the arms to restrain him.

"Next time you say something like that to our, Captain." Sulu hissed quietly as they ushered him to the door. "I will make sure you lose a limb."

Frank cursed before the two men shoved him out the door and Jim sighed heavily, the wait-staff taking care of the crowd of people who had gathered to watch the fight. The blond made his way over to Bones and Nyota, eyes inquisitive and concerned.

"Bruised and drunk, but fine," Bones answered without even having to look at his best friend. "I think it's time we all went home."

"Thanks," Jim murmured and the older man clapped his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly and Jim shrugged.

"I'm fine, didn't get hit."

Bones furrowed his brows, "You know what I mean."

Jim forced a small smile, "I'll get over it. It's no big deal, I promise."

"I'll be by your apartment at 7 with coffee and medication. Make sure the kid drinks a lot of water before he goes to bed, same goes for you; I know he's staying with you for shore leave so you'll have a fun night." Bones sighed.

"Thanks, Leonard." Jim said softly and Bones nodded.

"I'm your best friend; it's in my job description." He smiled slightly and walked off to see Christine.

Jim watched him for a moment before sighing again and going over to see Pavel, who was seated in a chair while Nyota tried to get him to drink some water. They shared a look, Jim silently telling her he could take care of it, and she nodded, going to Spock's side. The blond turned his attention back to his young navigator, who was pouting and holding his stomach.

"I am sorry, sor zat zat happened…" he whispered and Jim shook his head, setting a hand on Pavel's knee.

"It wasn't your fault, Pasha." Jim murmured. "Thank you, by the way, for what you said and did. It meant a lot."

"I zink ze alcoohol has made me brawer, I vood noot hawe done zat ozer wise." the kid concluded blearily.

Jim chuckled, "Yeah, alcohol can do that. But, as much as I appreciate your help, _please_ never do something like that again, okay Pasha?"

Pavel furrowed his brows and blinked, "Vhy? I zought I helped?"

Jim sighed, "Yes, you did and I'm very thankful for it, but you could have gotten yourself seriously hurt. I know you can take care of yourself and you have the basic training under belt and all, but people like Frank…they can do real damage real fast. He was so drunk out of his mind, he couldn't see straight and I don't wanna even think about what he might have done to you if he had been coherent. I've been on the other side of it and it isn't fun."

The teen swallowed thickly and looked down, "He ees a jork…"

Jim smiled slightly, "Yeah, he is. Just promised me, Pasha, okay?"

Pavel blinked a few times and nodded, "I promise, sor."

"Good," Jim grinned and turned around so Pavel could climb on his back. "Now let's get you home, shall we?"

"Mhm," Pavel murmured tiredly, wrapping his small arms around his neck before Jim stood with a grunt. Man, the kid wasn't as light as one might think.

Pavel yawned and buried his head onto the back of Jim's shoulder, murmuring sleepily, "I lowe you, Keptin."

Jim smiled softly, "I love you to, kiddo."

"Oh, and Pavel?"

"Yees?"

"Remind me _never_ to get you angry."

"Deel."


	6. Nightmares are a Bitch

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: Yay! Finally got my brain working and got my fingers movin! :) This installment is dedicated to the lovely Horsetamer5 who was kind enough to help me kick start my brain. So you guys better be thankful to'em for helpin! Nooowww, this is set a few months after the Nerada incident, where everyone's emotions were still a little bit haywire and nerves were being a bitch. It's mostly just Bones and Chekov fluffiness though. :)**

**Enjoy~ Don't forget to leave some feedback and reviews!**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

_He was scared. Oh gods, he was terrified. Running, running, running, that's all he could do. Phaser shots whizzed overhead, nicking him here and there, but never making direct contact. Heavy footfalls rang behind him - a group - and angry explicatives were being shouted at his back. His lungs were burning, his brain spinning a mile a minute, his muscles were screaming at him from over exertion, but none of that seemed to register – no, because the real pain, the real agony, was the tear in his chest, the shattered glass of his heart stabbing into the tissue of his forever. His family was dead. _

_They'd been invaded by a hostile Romulan ship, their cloaking technology the perfect stealth tactic. They never knew they were coming. That's how their enemies wanted it. They took down the bridge first and the crew with it. _

_Spock was cut down trying to protect Nyota. Nyota was shot trying to protect Spock. Hikaru was stabbed through the heart trying to defend their ship. And Jim was shot through the stomach trying to protect Pavel. _

_He was the last surviving member of the bridge crew. _

_"Get…to the escape pods…" Jim had ordered him through a mouthful of crimson blood. "Get Bones…and Scotty…and everyone else…out of here…I'm counting on you…acting captain…Pavel…Chekov…."_

_How could he dare refuse the orders of his dying captain? How could he refuse the last words of his dying brother? He couldn't. _

_So now he was running. Running to try and clear the ship. Running to try and find the last three members of his space family. _Oh gods, please_, was all he could beg to the universe, _please, let me make it in time._ He'd sent out a ship wide evacuation alert through a jury-rigged communicator and now he just had to make it out before it was too late. _

_They'd initiated code Golden Sun-258779364887: Enterprise's finale. _

_Pavel slid sharply around a corner and into another corridor, quickly closing the door and programming it to bolt lock. When he turned around he saw that half the remaining crew was being loaded onto shuttles; Mr. Keenser ushering lines of science officers, Mr. Scott yelling at clusters of security and engineering, and Dr. McCoy instructing medical and the surviving injured. _

_The trembling teen made his way over to the doctor just as the last shuttle left; their eyes met; Bones' gaze was hopeful, but worried as he noticed the large amounts of blood staining the boy's clothes and Pavel's eyes were dulled with grief. _

_"Z-Zey are dead," he answered the unasked question and silence hung heavily in the air between the four of them. This was all that was left of the Enterprise's senior staff. _

_McCoy grit his teeth hard enough for them all to hear his jaw pop, his fists white knuckled and his eyes glistening with heart shattered pain. "Dammit Jim, this isn't supposed to happen! You cheated death before, ya idiot, why can't ya do it again?!"_

_The yell echoed through the empty hanger, the sound reverberating through their hollow chests. They could say the same thing, just no one else wanted to. _

_Pavel took in a shaky breath to try and steal his panicking nerves. He had to get Bones and Scotty and Keenser off the ship. That was top priority. He had to keep his promise to Jim. _

_"Ees zere anozer shootle?" the teen asked evenly. _

_"Nah," Scotty shook his head. _

_"Then we'll have to use the escape pods," Bones decided. _

_Pavel nodded in agreement and practically jumped out of his skin as loud banging suddenly came from the locked door behind them. _

_"An we bettah hurry," Scotty gulped. _

_"This way," Pavel ushered the other men to follow him as he ran into a nearby corridor, layouts of secret passages mapping out inside his head. If they could just keep the Romulan's from finding their trail then they should be home free. But then again, when was anything ever easy for their crew?_

**_"45 seconds left until Golden Sun is initiated" _**_the computer chimed. _

_"Laddie, we only got 45 seconds left tell our lovely lady stops singin'," Scotty warned in a panicked voice. _

_"I know!" Pavel snapped unintentionally, fear and panic and too much reality falling on him at once. _

_Something moved further down the corridor behind Pavel's back, Bones' catching the action with a growl on his lips. _

_"Kid, get down!" the southern man barked, yanking him forward and covering the teen just as two phaser shots fired towards them. Two pained screams followed as two splatters of blood slapped Pavel's pale face and his grey eyes widened in horror as he watched Scotty and Keenser fall. _

_And then there were two. _

_"Come on, this way, quick!" Bones barked over the phaser shots ringing around them, taking Pavel by the arm and dragging him along the other way. They managed to find another corridor hidden within the wall and followed it for another three turns until they finally reached the escape pods room. _

**_"20 seconds left until Golden Sun is initiated"_**_ the computer chimed._

_"Get in, kid!" the southern doctor's strong hands wrapped around the boy's toothpick thin waist, hoisting him up and into one of the escape pods before he could argue. The door was closed, latched, and Pavel's eyes widened with knowing horror. _

_"Doktor, vat are you dooing?!" Pavel screamed through the thick glass, his heart beating against his throat. Bones smiled sadly at the teen through the glass. _

_"Someone's gotta stay with Jim. Who know's what stupidity he'll get into without me here." The doctor joked, but Pavel understood the underlining meaning all too clear. _

_He punched the door in desperation, kicking and trying to fight it open. Tears he'd been keeping at bay this entire time ran like a river down his grimy face, mixing with blood and sweat and he shook his head. _

_"Nyet! Nyet, you can noot do zis! I promised ze Keptin you vould be safe!" Pavel cried. _

_Bones smiled sadly, "Funny, I promised Jim the same thing too."_

**_"10 seconds until Golden Sun is initiated,"_**_ The computer announced. _

_"Doktor, please, if you vill noot leawe, ze let me stay vis you! Please!" the boy begged desperately. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. _

_Bones shook his head, "No can do kid. Ya gotta a long life ahead of ya and I ain't gonna let ya waste it by tryin to play hero."_

**_"5 second until Golden Sun is initiated,"_**_ the computure announced. _

_"Guess this is goodbye, Pasha." Bones smiled painfully, tears welling in his eyes as he typed in the eject code. Pavel yelped as the pod shot out from its holder, sliding through loops of tubing before spitting him out into deep space. And then, right before his eyes, the Enterprise exploded into a giant hot ball of golden light, taking the nearby Romulan ship with it. _

_"NYET!"_

* * *

Pavel woke up to the sound of someone screaming and someone else beating against his door. It took him a few seconds to realize he was the one screaming and that he was out of breath and covered in a thin layer of sweat, his comforter and sheet were in a messy pile at the end of his bed and he was clutching his stuffed Sehlat for dear life. Was it only a dream?

"Pavel! Pavel! Dammit, Kid, are you okay?!" Bones' voice growled from the other side of the door as he beat against in an obvious panic. Before the teen could even gather his wits enough to form a response, the lock had been over-rode and the door slid open.

Doctor McCoy dashed into the room, a worried scowl on his face and a tricorder in hand. "What the blue blazes was goin on in here?"

_He's alive. He's okay. The ship's still here. Everyone's okay._ Pavel's eyes widened in disbelieving shock, his vision quickly clouding over with hot, stinging tears before he scrambled desperately off the bed, abandoning his teddy bear, and threw himself into the older man.

"Whoa there!" the man blinked in shock, setting his feet to keep from falling over as the teen wrapped his arms tightly around his torso like he was a life line. "What's gotten into you, Kid?"

Pavel held tightly the man, body trembling with tremulous sobs, "I-I zaught vho v-v-vere dead!"

Bones sighed heavily and gently wrapped his arms around the boy, _a nightmare_. "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, calm down, everythin's alright. It's just a dream, Pasha, it ain't real."

"E-Et vas t-too real!" the boy argued brokenly. "R-Romulans t-took over ze sheep, a-and ze k-keptin and H-hikaru a-and everyone v-vas keeled! A-and y-you s-stayed on ze sheep v-vhen eet exploded a-and all I could do v-vas vatch!"

The arms around the boy's small body tightened considerably, holding him close and secure as Bones' fingers intertwined in the mane of messy curls. "It was just a dream; it was just a dream; everyone's okay, kid. Come on, calm down and breathe. Yer okay, Jim's okay, the ship is safe. I'm here and I ain't goin anywhere, so just breathe."

Despite the liniments of reassurance and the soft, soothing touching, it took Pavel a good half hour to finally regain his bearings. In the end he was exhausted and felt sick to his stomach and miserable. Bones wasn't feeling all that much better either. It broke the old man's heart to see the usually bubbly and care-free sprout so torn apart and shattered. He should never have to be like that, but then again space was danger and disease wrapped in silence and darkness – anything could happen.

Once the two male's peeled themselves apart, Bones lead the scrawny teen back to bed and retrieved his balled up blankets to cover him up. He'd run a quick tricorder scan over the boy, finding his blood pressure a little too low and his body temperature a little too high. With a quick hypo to the neck, the doctor regulated his signs and set the tricorder on Pavel's side table before kicking off his boots, removing his blue uniform shirt and crawling onto the other side of the bed.

Pavel blinked in sleepy confusion and tried to roll over to face the man, only to have his face pressed firmly into the doctor's chest when he did so.

"Jim's had his fair share of night terrors too, both in the academy and on this bloody tin can. He can never sleep unless someone stays with him, but if this gets leaked out to anyone else on the damn ship, I swear I will kick your scrawny little ass back to earth, got that?" Bones grumbled in embarrassment.

The Russian teen blinked again, but smiled weakly and cuddled against the man's chest, hugging his stuffed Sehlat close. "Zank you, Leo…"

"Sleep, Pasha. I'll protect you."

Pavel let out a slow, content breath as he closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth of the strong arms around him as dreams of a loving family filled his heart. Maybe, just for tonight, he could pretend he had the father he'd always wanted.


	7. Forever is Forever is Forever

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: And another installment is up! So, another shout out to Horsetamer5 for all her help and also to n1h1l4dr3m and her amazing Navy family! Thanks for all that you guys do for the USA! :) This chapter is after STID and a lot of Spock/Uhura fluff plus Pavel!Whumpage. XD**

**Enjoy~ Don't forget to leave some feedback and reviews!**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

"Deed you and ze coomander fight agen?" Pavel asked knowingly as he sat across from the dark skinned beauty just as she stabbed her salad a little more violently than strictly necessary.

"That…that damn pointy eared _robot_ is as heartless as a Klingon! He dares to claim that my emotional attachment to his is making me neglect my work! _Me_, of all people, neglecting _my _work; it's absurd! And if that doesn't make the whole case worse, he thinks that our relationship is too _physical_ and he wants to remain strictly to the cultural PDA of his own kind. Well, he didn't have a problem with it before now! Ugh, damn him and his stupid logical bullshit!" Nyota ranted angrily, stabbing her poor salad again and shoving a mouthful into her mouth.

The young teen blinked in shock at the woman's anger, nervously sipping at his replicated protein shake as he processed the current rant. As the woman across from his angrily chewed her food, she seemed to finally realize exactly _who_ she had dumped her drama on and immediately felt guilty.

Smiling sheepishly, Nyota leaned forward and stretched a hand out to grasp Pavel's in hers, "Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry, I just dumped all my emotional baggage on you. That wasn't right of me; I just really needed to blow off steam and I did it to the wrong person. Please, ignore what I just said; I don't want you to worry."

The teen swallowed and shook his head, smiling slightly as he squeezed Nyota's hand, "Nyet eet ees okee, Nyota. I doo noot meend; eet is noot good to keep zings bootled up, yes?"

The woman squeezed Pavel's hand back and shook her head, "No no, I guess you're right, it isn't. But, no offence Pasha, what can I really expect a seventeen year old to do about my love problems."

"You doo haee a point," the boy chuckled lightly. "Boot I moost ask, hawe you talked to ze coomander aboot hov you feel?"

The linguist blinked, "No, I can't say that I have. I just kind of…well, honestly I stormed out after he talked to me last night."

"Zen, vhy noot try zat?" Pavel beamed, "Mama alvays says zat talking ewens out ze playeng field. Vun can noot argue agenst somevun else's ovn feelengs, yes?"

Nyota smiled, "You're mother is quite right, Pasha. Thank you."

"Glad to heelp," the teen nodded proudly.

The long haired female laughed lightly, letting go of the boy's hand to get back to her meal. "Well then, why don't you tell me all about what you learned from shadowing Scotty today?"

* * *

Nyota gave a pleasant sigh as she strode down the hall towards the bridge; feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Though she had understood little more than nothing about what Pavel had - enthusiastically - dumped on her about internal dampeners and engine turbines, it had at least taken her mind off of the emotional ping-pong game in her chest and gave her brain some time to breath. Now feeling refreshed and relaxed, she could finally plot out a plan-of-action. And – speak of the Vulcan – Spock had just turned into the hallway ahead of her – perfect timing.

Quickly composing herself, the long haired beauty quickened her pass and turned the next corner after him, "Commander! Commander, may I speak with you a moment?"

Looking up from the PADD in his hand and blinking owlishly, the straight-backed man turned to her, "What is it you require to speak about, Lieutenant? Your lunch break ends in 5 minutes, I should remind you."

Taking in a long breath and letting it out slowly, the woman nodded, "I am well aware of that, sir, but 5 minutes is all I need."

"Then proceed," he nodded in approval.

She hesitated a moment, "Permission to speak in off-duty terms?"

"Permission granted," he nodded and tucked the PADD against his chest, standing straighter in interest.

Uhura smiled fondly and reached forward, grasping Spock's fore and middle fingers in hers and feeling girlish pride as a light green blush spread on his cheeks.

"I apologize for my unorthodox behavior earlier," she said softly as their fingers slid apart and she stepped a little closer. "I understand your wish and I'm more than willing to grant it, but you have to give me some leeway on the matter as well. We share different customs and there are adjustments we have to make in our relationship to compensate for those differences."

Spock furrowed his brows, "I…do not follow, Nyota."

The woman sighed heavily, looking up at him with longing eyes as she set a delicate hand on his chest, "I'm saying, Spock, that while I understand your culture doesn't participate in much close contact, mine does. Contact is a craving, a need all humans have, even if they don't want to admit it and it's not something I can just give up on the spot."

"That is an imperfection easily changed," Spock nodded in understanding as he gently removed her hand. "You will learn to adjust in time."

Nyota blinked, pink lips parted slightly and eyes wide in astonishment as she stepped back in shock, "E-excuse me?"

"It is merely a human imperfection," Spock repeated, raising an eyebrow, "A simple matter that, in time and with some training, can be quickly remedied."

Eyes narrowed, she hissed, "Are you being serious right now?"

"There is seldom a time when I am not serious, Nyota." The Vulcan blinked in confusion.

Anger flared through the woman's veins like a wildfire before a painful slap rang through the hall, the few officers passing by silently cringing. Spock blinked in shock, stiffening as he watched his girlfriend seethe.

"So what, you think I'm nothing but an _animal_?! That I need to be _trained_ like some kind of stupid beast?!" she yelled furiously, "Well I have news for you, you spiky eared asshole, I am a _human being_, not some kind of animal for you train for your little sideshow!"

Spock blinked again and looked around, seeing the eyes of a few stray crewmembers watching them curiously. "Nyota, please, calm your emotions. You are making an inappropriate scene."

"Don't you _dare_ tell me to _calm my emotions_, you emotionless alien!" Nyota snapped, "You don't know _anything _about emotions and, obviously, you don't know _anything_ about me! You understand nothing of my customs, my feelings, _nothing_! You're so _obsessed_ with trying to force yourself to be completely Vulcan; you forget that you yourself are human too!"

The man blinked for a third time, turning around quickly when his girlfriend – or probably by now ex-_girlfriend_ – stormed down the hall. "Nyota, I…"

"Don't bother," the woman hissed over her shoulder, "I don't want to hear anymore of your Vulcan bullshit."

Spock began to say something else, but logically decided it wouldn't be a wise choice and quickly shut his mouth.

Uhura sighed heavily, turning away from him, "Come talk to me when you're ready to finally accept the fact that you're just as flawed as the rest of us."

And off she went towards the bridge, leaving a bewildered Spock among murmuring crewmen with a tear in his heart.

* * *

Pavel pressed his back firmly against the cold metal of the wall behind him, breathing anxiously as he hugged his PADD tightly to his chest. They were fighting again? Didn't Nyota just say they fought last night? And now she stormed away from him…are they going to breakup? That can't happen, that isn't supposed to happen, his mother's advice usually always works, why didn't this time?

The teen squeezed his grey eyes shut tight, shaking his head roughly to try and dispel rising ghosts better left buried. When he blinked again, he looked at the watch on his wrist. Shit, he was late meeting Scotty back in engineering. Quickly pushing off from the wall, Pavel bolted down the hall. Maybe some work would get his mind off all of this.

* * *

"Are ya even lisenin to meh, laddie?!" Pavel startled out of his thoughts, blinking rapidly to focus on Scotty's frowning figure as the man stood over him.

The teen blushed darkly in embarrassment, "E-eh…uh…y-yess sor."

"Ya didn't hear a peep, did ya?" the Scotsman sighed heavily as his young prodaja shook his head slightly. "Wha's goin on in de big brain of yers dats destractin ya so much? Don' tell meh ya got yerself a little lassie already."

"Nyet, not at all, sor," Pavel shook his head quickly and sat straighter, grabbing hold of the wires from the console they were trying to fix so as to change the conversation. "Let us joost fix zis, da?"

Scotty's eyes widened as the cut hooked the wires together and began twisting them to connect them, "Whoa, whoa, wait laddie! Those are de wrong wires!"

The warning fell on def ears as Pavel shrieked loudly in pain, the wires sparking and a tremor running through the kid's body. Pavel collapsed on to the metal catwalk, body trembling every now and again as his breathing wheezed painfully. Scotty felt his heart leap and go into over drive as he quickly checked the teen's neck for a pulse. It was weak, but there.

"Sumune call Dr. McCoy! Now!" the man hollered at a group of nearby cadets, "And alert de Cap'n too!"

Turning his attention back to barely conscious Russian, he tapped his cheek purposefully, "Cumon, laddie, stay wis'me. Stay wis'me, Pasha. Hey, Pasha…"

Pavel blinked, once, twice, at Scotty before his tired eyes finally turned skyward and all he knew was darkness.

* * *

_"I can not live like this anymore!" a tall, burly man with dark brown hair and narrowed brown eyes yelled angrily in Russian, his deep voice reverberating throughout the small house. _

_"Keep your voice down, Andrei, you vill vake Pasha!" hissed a petite woman with long hazel curls and crystal grey eyes. _

_"I do not care about that pathetic child! He is not vorthy to be my son, Larisa!" Andrei spat. _

_Larisa growled in anger, "Do not dare talk that vay about my child, you beast!"_

_"I vill talk about him how I see fit," Andrei retorted. "He is veak, just like you! His health bills are high, he is on constant medication, and all he can do is sit in bed and read all day! He can not be of help to me in the yard or at vork or anything! What kind of son is that for a man like me?"_

_"He is your son, is that not good enough for you?" Larisa frowned. _

_Andrei scoffed, "Vhen I vas his age, I vas out in the factories vith my father every single day, I vas not lazing around doing nothing of purpose!"_

_"He just got out of the hospital yesterday, Andrei! He must rest, as the doktors prescribed him to!" Larisa huffed. _

_"Yes, for the seventh time in a month!" Andrei argued, "And how long until you are back there too, Larisa? The both of you are in and out of that place far too much. It takes too many long vork nights to even make ends meet and I can not live like this no more!"_

_Larisa__ frowned, "Vat do you vant me to do?! Stop going?"_

_"Yes!" he snapped. _

_"Vell I can't!" she yelled back. _

_5-year-old Pasha flinched from his hiding spot in the stair case, peering over the railing to watch sadly as his parents fought. His father had luggage by his feet and they were standing by the door. He clutched his Sehlat close to his tiny chest, not fully understanding what was going on. _

_"Now stop all this silliness, I am too tired to deal vith you." Larisa sighed heavily, putting a hand to her forehead. _

_"You are always too tired to deal vith anything!" Andrei continued his tyrant. "I have to cook because you cannot stand for long! I have to clean because it makes you ill! I have to do everything because you are too weak to do anything yourself!"_

_"You did not act this vay vhen ve got married, so vhy are you doing it now?!" Andrei advocated. _

_"Because, thanks to that child you are no longer the voman I married!" he roared. _

_Pasha cowered back in fear at his father's voice, tears pricking at his eyes as he shook. Was this all his fault? Did he do something wrong?_

_"Thanks to that child, I feel more alive than I have my entire life!" Lisara defended, "And I pull my veight around here as much as I can! You know that I do! Vhen you vork late I have dinner for you! Vhen you are exhausted I am there for you! Even vhen you are sick and the doktors tell me to stay away, I am still there for you! So stop your lying and tell me, vat do you vant me to do?"_

_"I have told you, I am tired of dealing vith this! I can't deal vith this lifestyle forever! I can't deal vith the both of you always being sick! I can't have a life of my own because I must take care of the two of you and I am tired of it!"_

_Larisa__ frowned deeply, "Then just leave! Just go away! You always say you vant to, but you never do! You always complain like this, but never change it! I am tired of listening to you, Andrei! You are nothing but a child most of the time!"_

_"And you are a dumb whore!" Andrei snapped. _

_Pasha gasped and Larisa growled. "Get out of my house you beast! You vill not talk about me that vay! Now out! Out now! Go!"_

_She pushed and shoved him towards the door, not doing much of anything, until the man backhanded her and Larisa was on the floor. _

_"You are a pathetic vorm! Go crawl on the floor vere you belong, you disgusting bitch!" and with that, Andrei picked up his luggage and left the house. _

_"Good riddance!" Larisa yelled after him though as soon as the doors closed ash buried her face in her hands and began to cry. _

_Pasha swallowed thickly and carefully made his way down the stairs and over to his mother, pressing his Sehlat into her shoulder. Larisa looked up at her son, tears still streaming down her face as she looked from the toy to the boy. _

_"No cry, Mama…no cry…no cry…" even as he said the words to try and comfort the woman, he felt tears start to run down his own face as well. _

_"Oh, baby. My pasha, my baby…" Larisa gathered the boy in her arms as he began to cry. "It is okay, my love…ve still have each other. Always, ve vill always have each other. And that's all ve need. All ve vill ever need. You, me, and babushka once she returns from Vulcan. Ve vill be happy. That is all ve need."_

_They held each other as Larisa rocked back on forth on the floor and tried to sooth her child. They would make it out of this okay. Even though the pain in her chest wanted oh so much to say it was impossible. _

* * *

The next time Pavel opened his eyes, it was to the sound of quiet whispers, heart monitors and the blinding bright lights of medbay. Groaning weakly, turning his head to the side and burying it in the fluff of the white pillow under his throbbing head. He felt so tired, even though he just woke up, and everything from his skin to his veins hurt like hell. What the heck happened?

"Hey, kid. You back with us?" the gentle, southern voice forced Pavel to open his tired eyes, blearily focusing on the worried face of Doctor McCoy.

"Vat 'appened…?" the teen slurred slightly, starting to sit up, but being stopped by a finger on his shoulder.

"_Do not_ try to get up. You'll be in a world of hurt if you do," the doctor warned before scanning his tricorder over Pavel's body.

"You gave us all quite the scare, kiddo." He said while conducting his examination, "Scotty called me in a panic saying you electrocuted yourself down in engineering and when I got there you were just barely holdin on to livin. When Jim found out, boy was he pissed at Scotty. You're off of engineering duty for life, by the way."

"So…I am not dead…?" Pavel asked dumbly.

McCoy shook his head, "Wouldn't be talking to me if ya were. You are, however, very much drugged. Got ya pumped full of good stuff to keep ya comfortable until the muscle spasms ease up. You're also on sick leave for the next week so I can keep an eye on ya."

"I…zink I can deel viz zat…" he sighed lightly.

The doctor grunted, "Good. Less of a headache for me and don't think yer getting out of the 'I had to bring yer stupid ass back to life' lecture I always give ta Jim. This was by far the dumbest thing you've ever done, kid."

"I agree," huffed a steaming Uhura as the woman marched over to the other side of Pavel's bed.

"I'll be back," McCoy took this as his signal to leave and bailed as quickly as he could. Even he was afraid of Uhura's wrath and he struck fear into _everyone_.

Uhura nodded in thanks to the doctor before turning her steely glare at Pavel. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was of you to do? Everyone was worried sick when McCoy told us what was going on. Jim nearly ripped Scotty to shreds for letting it happen and I had to hold Spock back from actually killing him. What in the world were you thinking when you did that, Chekov?"

Pavel blinked as his drugged mind slowly processed the speech, only retaining a few words here and there. "You and ze coomander…you are noot going to leawe…reeght? You two are…steel togezer?"

Uhura blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"I…heard you two feeghting after loonch…" he murmured.

It clicked and Nyota sighed heavily, running her gently hand over Pavel's bare arm, "Oh sweetie, no, I'm not going to breakup with Spock. We were just having a disagreement, but we've worked it out. Oh honey, is that what was distracting you so much?"

"Noot really…" he admitted. "I-I joost…I cooldn't stoop zinking about vhen Papa and Mama fought vhen I vas leetle and…vhen you valked avay ze coomander looked so hurt and I joost saw Papa walking out zen and he vasn't coming back and I zought…"

"That I was leaving him." Uhura finished, sighing when she received a small nod.

"Honey, I can't promise that Spock and I will be together forever. We're just dating right now and sometimes that can lead into either marriage or breakups, but only time will tell that. I will promise you though that both Spock and I love each other very, very much and if anything did happen between us, we'd still love each other, but just on different terms."

"And…eweryone vood steel be a famoly?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course everyone would still be a family." Uhura smiled lovingly, "That's one thing that I can put a forever to. This family is for life, so don't worry, okay?"

Pavel smiled weakly, "Da."

"You are incorrect, Nyota." Spock declared as he walked over to the two.

Uhura turned to glare at the man, "Incorrect about what, Spock?"

The man shifted on his feet somewhat nervously and looked away, a pale green blush on his cheeks. "There is another 'forever', as you called it, to add to your statement. That is, however, if you would do me the pleasure…"

Nyota's eyes widened as Spock held up a silver ring in the palm of his hand towards her. Pavel smiled weakly as the woman looked both embarrassed and overwhelmed.

"S-Spock…oh my…you…what?" she blinked back tears of joy, not knowing what to do.

"It is a human custom to present one with a ring when asking for their hand, correct?" he inquired.

Nyota nodded slightly before smiling brightly, "Oh Spock"

"It is my mother's engagement ring," he said softly. "You were correct, Nyota, in stating that I am just as human as you are and it is something I can not get rid of, nor truly want to. Your culture is my culture too and I would like to explore more of it with you. Is that acceptable?"

Nyota sniffed as tears slid down her face, "It is more than acceptable, Spock."

The Vulcan smiled slightly and took Nyota's left hand, sliding the silver ring onto her ring finger and kissing her hand livingly. A loud applause and cheers came from the door, the couple turning around to see the entire bridge crew gathered to witness the proposal. Sulu was video tapping the whole thing while McCoy rolled his eyes.

"This is the only time I'll let something like this happen in my medbay. This aint a place for social gatherins, dammit." He grumbled, though couldn't help the smile forming on his lips.

"Oh you know you love it, Bones." Jim grinned, throwing his arm around his friend and winking at Spock.

"Guess eet is two forewers nov…Lieutenant." Pavel chuckled weakly.

Nyota smiled at him before looking at Spock, "As I said, we'll always be a family."

Spock wrapped his arm around the woman's waist with a small nod and pulled her close as she cupped his cheeks and they pulled each other into a kiss.


	8. It's Just a Little Cold (Scene)

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: So, this is a little request from Kamen Rider Lynx who wanted to see the passing out scene from** _It's Just a Little Cold. :) _

**Enjoy~ Don't forget to leave some feedback and reviews!**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

Pavel Andreievich Chekov looked like complete and utter crap. There was no sugar coating the misery the boy undoubtedly felt: his whole body seemed stiff and rigid, his face was pulled into a subtly grimace as he occasionally rubbed his stomach, his head had to be throbbing, his eyes had to hurt from the light, his nose was stuffed up, throat sore, cheeks flushed – it had to be pure, unadulterated hell.

So why in all the galaxies was the damned kid on his bridge?

Jim frowned slightly as he watched his young navigator with a steely gaze, noticing all of his little twitches: the rubbing of his forehead and eyes, his little sniffles and small coughs, his uneven breathing. The damn kid was sick so why was his damn ass in the damned chair and not down in medbay, dammit?

Spock was also very much aware of the illness their youngest member was harboring, asking himself the same questions. Protocol states to dismiss any ill crew members to medical upon first symptoms, but the Vulcan man was all too aware that the curly haired boy had adapted the same mentality of their captain. He would be stubborn and deny any and all amounts of reasoning. That is unless the captain ordered him, which needed probable cause.

Turning around in his chair at the science station, Spock fixed his dark gaze on the back of the young Russian's head, clearing his throat loudly, "Mr. Chekov."

Sulu side-glanced at his friend just as Pavel stiffened. There. Hikaru _knew_ there was something going on with his best friend. Pavel hadn't been as bubbly when they met up for breakfast this morning. The kid hadn't even eaten anything and barely even talked, the few times he did sounded almost unbearably painful. He'd had to keep himself from cringing with every croak and hitch. Maybe now someone would knock some sense into the brat and send him to medbay, _before _something happened to him.

"_Y-yees…sor…?_" the teen croaked, wincing in both pain from his throat and the pain of how horrid his voice sounded, as he turned around. The commander eyed him knowingly before ushering him over.

"I'd like to see the scan you gathered of the yesterday stray meteorite if you please," he said, giving no hint as to the illness the navigator possessed, but by a quick shared look with the captain, it was obvious what he was planning.

Jim gave a subtle nod in agreement to the man's silent plan, eyes shifting back to a nervous looking Pavel, "Everything alright?"

Uhura turned just as the boy startled and she watched as he put on the fakest smile he could muster and shakily stand with his PADD. "N-nyet sor…r-reeght avay sor…"

The dark skinned woman looked to the captain worriedly, her motherly instincts kicking into overdrive. Jim only winked at her and she instantly relaxed as she became aware of the plan. However, the plan didn't go as planned at all.

Pavel swallowed thickly as he made his way across the bridge, his stomach doing summersaults as the floor seemed to shift and dip under the boy's feet. Or maybe that was just his eyes confusing him? Either way everything was spinning and Pavel could seem to get his feet to work right and he was suddenly very, very tired. All he heard was a faint chorus of cries when he stumbled, the clatter of his PADD on the floor, before a sharp pain in his stomach knocked the wind out of him and he only knew darkness.

As soon as Pavel began to stumble, Jim knew there was something wrong and quickly stood, but it was too late. The boy dropped his PADD and stumbled into the corner of one of the nearby stations. Ouch, that had to hurt.

"Pasha!" Nyota cried in worry as the boy stumbled back two steps before his legs crumbled beneath him.

"Pavel!" Jim and Hikaru called in unison and Spock lunged forward from his seat, catching the back of the boy's head in his hand just before could hit the ground. Nyota was over in a second flat, kneeling on the floor for Spock to lay the teen's lulled head in her lap as he moved to brace Pavel's knees up to promote even blood flow to rise his blood pressure.

Hikaru dropped next to his best friend, sliding a hand on to the navigator's forehead and frowning deeply. "He's got a high fever."

"I'm calling Bones," Jim replied quickly, pressing the button of his shirt com to contact his friend.

Not even five seconds later, Pavel breathed in deeply, his eyes fluttering open as he looked around quickly in confusion. "V-vuh…?"

"Hey, hey easy, stay down. You just passed out, buddy." Hikaru soothed softly, pressing his hands against the teen's thin shoulders when he tried to sit up.

"Bones will be up in a minute," Jim told the huddled group before making his way to kneel at Pavel's other side.

Pavel blinked blearily when he felt Jim's hand push up the hem of his uniform shirts before hearing a sympathetic wince.

Hikaru cringed himself when he saw the purplish-blue and red swollen welt on the kid's side, "Damn that has to hurt."

"I doo noot feel any pain….vuts vrong…?" the teen slurred.

"What the blue blazes is goin on in here? Outta the way, outta the way!" the southern voice barked, dispersing the group of bridge crew who had huddled near the senior staff to see what was going on. Once Bones shoved his way through and Jim moved to the side, the doctor kneeled down on one knee and ran his tricorder over the kid's body.

"Ensign Chekov seems to have come down with some sort of illness, doctor, and collapsed while trying to bring me scans of the meteor from yesterday. He hit the Ensign Yulna's station as he fell, too, injuring his side." Spock informed Bones.

"Thanks, I can see that," he grunted. "And why the hell didn't anyone send the kid down to me bother this?"

"He was being stubborn, sir." Hikaru spoke up. "I told him to go to you before the shift started but he proclaimed himself okay enough to come on duty. He's starting to become as hard headed as the captain."

Jim smiled sheepishly as McCoy turned a fiery glare on him, "Hey, the kid hero-worships me. I can't control what he picks up and doesn't."

"How 'bout you start bein a good example! Maybe then he wouldn't do this shit!" Bones growled.

"Mmm, stoop viz ze yelling…my heed hurts…" Pavel whined pathetically, burying his cheek against Nyota's lap as the woman ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly.

Bones sighed heavily and stood up, "Jim, get him."

"Gotcha," Jim nodded, gently sliding his arm under the kid's shoulders and the other under his bent knees before carefully lifting him up.

"Spock you have the con," the blond called over his shoulder as he followed Bones off the bridge.

Hikaru sighed heavily, "As if one Jim wasn't enough."

"Now we've got two," Nyota grumbled.

"We surely have our work cut out of us now," Spock agreed and the three of them nodded before getting back to work.


	9. The Things I Do For You

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: Here's another little gift for the lovely Kamen Rider Lynx who wanted to see an interaction between Bones and Jim when Jim was dealing with nightmares. It was briefly mentioned in _Nightmare's are a Bitch_, but here's going into more detail about it. ^^ Mentions of Tarsus and Hoshi Sato as well, warning and all that jazz.  
**

**Enjoy~ Don't forget to leave some feedback and reviews!**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

Bones knew he was going to regret the day he met James T. Kirk the second the boy introduced himself. He'd felt in his gut, - well, before he upchucked all over the poor kid - that nothing good was going to come out of this. And he was right.

From fixing up bar-fight injuries to having to cure chronic hangovers, Leonard was seriously starting to question why he wasn't putting in an application for a new roommate. That same questioned, however, stayed in the back of his mind for the three years of being stuck with the annoying self-best-friend-proclaiming blond-haired wonder boy and no matter how much hell he was put through, the southern doctor just couldn't seem to bring himself to fill out the form. He could never really figure out why though, but deep down he knew why.

It was during midterms in their first year when it had happened. Leonard dragged himself lethargically into their dorm at 3 in the morning after spending most of the night in the library trying to shove as much information from his textbooks in his head as humanly possible. Jim, however, had been blissfully dead to the world for the past three hours and Leonard knew damn well that he hadn't cracked open even one of his textbooks – damn kid and his damned eidetic memory.

Sighing heavily, the old doctor had kicked off his boots and, not bothering to change out of his cadet uniform, flopped straight onto his small bed on the other side of the room. He sighed in exhausted pleasure, burying his face into the fluffy pillow, thankful to finally be able to sleep, when he heard it.

It was a small sound at first, like a grunt or a moan, but then it slowly escalated into a frustrated whimper. At first Leonard rolled his eyes, figuring Jim was having one of his 'wet' dreams he usually had when not getting laid in over three nights, and just buried himself back into his bed to sleep. It wasn't until the sounds morphed into whispered words that the doctor really started to pay attention. There had been an underlining desperation in the first incoherent breath and Bones leaned just a little closer to the edge of his bed to try and hear what his best friend was saying.

"No…no…please…please don't kill Sato…no…this is all my fault…no…" Jim whimpered desperately in his sleep, shifting his legs under the blankets as if to kick away whatever was upsetting him.

Bones frowned deeply and sat up, dark eyes glaring through the darkness as he watched the younger male toss and turn. _A nightmare_, the doctor figured, but there was something more to it. It seemed like whatever was going on behind the blonds' closed eyelids was more real to him than just a fabricated scenario, like as if the kid was reliving some sort of terrible experience – no, he _was_ reliving some terrible experience.

Jim suddenly started to thrash violently against the confines of his standard issue blankets, hollering in desperate anger as tears trailed through squeezed eyelids, "No! No! Sato, hold on! Hold on! You can't die, dammit! You can't!"

"Jim!" Bones exclaimed, eyes widening as he leaped form the bed and darted to the other side of the dorm room, grasping his friend's shoulders to shake him awake. The older male caught a right hook to the face and an elbow to the ribs, but it didn't daunt his task as he determinedly shook the boy below him.

"Come on kid, wake up! Open your eyes, dammit! Jim, come on, snap out of it!" Leonard growled, catching another hit to his gut before startled crystal eyes snapped open.

Jim sprang up quicker than a jack-in-the-box on a new spring and swallowed gulps of air as if he'd nearly drowned. By the looks of it he almost had, in his own ghosts and whatever the hell else was going through his genius brain. The kid looked around frantically, as if to reassure himself that he was, in fact, no longer in whatever hell hole he'd previously been trapped in.

And then his gaze fell on Bones (the taller man rubbing at his abused torso) before forcing a 'lazy' grin, "H-hey there, Bonesy. When did you get back?"

"Don't pander to me, kid," the man grunted. "Now ya gonna tell me what the sam-hell that was all 'bout or am I gonna have to wait till yer good and plastered to hear it?"

Jim sighed shakily, knowing there was no getting anything past the southern doctor, and his grin turned sheepish, "Being plastered sounds pretty damn good right now."

"Yeah, well yer not the only one who wants a drink," Bones groaned as he rubbed his ribs.

The blond winced in sympathy, "Sorry?"

"Ya better be," dark eyes fixed him with a scowling glare of disapproval before softening to a concerned half-lid. "Ya okay, though?"

"Huh?" Jim blinked, obviously somewhere other than Earth at the moment and shook his head to bring himself back, "Oh uh…no, not really, but I will be. Can I get that drink now?"

"Not tonight, kid," Bones sighed, as much as he wanted to give the young man anything to block out whatever that was, "We got exams tomorrow, ya know, and I don't think ya being hung-over would do yer grades or my sanity much good."

"Hey, I'm Jim Kirk, I never fail a test," Jim tried to lighten the mood and Bones didn't have the heart not to let him.

Chuckling slightly the man shook his head, "And I envy ya for that more than ya know. Now, how 'bout ya try to get back to sleep. Yer gonna need it."

The blond visibly stiffened, "Uh…I think I'll just stay up for a while. You know, get a start on my studying and all."

Bones sighed, "Jim, you and I both know that you never study. Ya don't need to study. You memorize everythin' like a walkin data-system. Ya need to sleep."

"Then will you sleep with me?" Jim blurted it out so quickly he didn't have time to process the words before they came spewing out. His eyes immediately widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

Bones blinked in shock at the request and Jim blushed darkly, arms flailing as he tried to right his mistake.

"No, uh…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that," he stuttered guiltily.

Shaking his head, Bones sighed and un-zipped his red cadet uniform jacket, dropping it on the floor. He ignored all of Jim's stammers as he peeled off the white tank-top underneath and shimmed out of red pants, leaving himself only in his black boxers and white socks.

"B-Bones, really, you don't have to do this. It was stupid of me to say, I wasn't thinking, honest," Jim continued to ramble even as the other man shoved him over against the wall and crawled into the bed beside him. Without a word, Leonard pushed his friend onto the bed, covering them both with the blanket before pulling the blonds' head into his chest.

"Will ya shut up and go to sleep already? Some of us gotta take a medicinal botany exam in the morning, ya know." He grumbled tiredly.

Jim blinked in shock before a slow, small smile spread on his lips and he cuddled closer to his friend, "Thanks, Bones."

Leonard blushed darkly, tightening his arm around the other male and looking around in embarrassment, "Yeah, well…mention this to any and yer dead, got that?"

"Understood," Jim grinend, "You know, you make a great teddy bear."

"Go to sleep, ya brat!" Bones snapped, closing his eyes with a scowl on his face.

The blond cadet chuckled to himself before wrapping his arm around Leonard's waist, hugging him tightly. His heart swelled with warmth and he sighed happily. He really had the greatest best friend in the entire world.

Bones waited until Jim's breathing finally evened out, signaling he was asleep, before leaning down and kissing the kid's head gently and nuzzling his head back into the pillow with a small smile.

Yeah, Bones knew he was going to regret the day he met James T. Kirk the second the boy introduced himself. From fixing up bar-fight injuries to having to cure chronic hangovers, Leonard was seriously starting to question why he wasn't putting in an application for a new roommate. That same questioned, however, stayed in the back of his mind for the three years of being stuck with the annoying self-best-friend-proclaiming blond-haired wonder boy and no matter how much hell he was put through, the southern doctor just couldn't seem to bring himself to fill out the form. He could never really figure out why though, but deep down he knew why.

After having his heart shattered to pieces and having his world stripped clean by his angry ex-wife, Leonard figured he'd be bitter and hollow for the rest of his life, but he never factored in his annoying self-best-friend-proclaiming blond-haired idiot of a roommate. With an eat-shit grin and carpe diem swag, James T. Kirk rebuilt a heart that had been broken and filled a bitter world with warmth and _that_ was the reason Leonard could never file for a new roommate.

Because he could never leave his best friend, no matter how much of a pain in the ass he was.


	10. Tribbles

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Paramount, Gene Roddenberry and J.J. Abrams.**

**A/N: So, my brain has been fried for days and school is getting ready to start and the fandom is slowly sinking back into the shadows. _I need the damn DVD already_. That's my excuse for taking so long. Sorry. But here's so Tribble love to make up for it. **

**Enjoy~ Don't forget to leave some feedback and reviews!**

**~Snow, out.**

* * *

"Keptin, can ve keep eet?"

Kirk's eye twitched in annoyance as he kept his head turned away form the boy below him, refusing to acknowledge the look he knew was to follow the sweet little voice in askance. Sighing heavily, the man crossed his arms, keeping one hand up with the fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose. _Remain in control. _You_ are the captain. Keep it together, Kirk._

"For the last time Mister Chekov – no means no," Kirk said sternly, glaring down at the boy.

Pavel furrowed his brows, lower lip protruding out as his eyes began to glisten with tears, "Pleeese, sor? Ve can noot joost leawe him here all alone. Pleeese?"

_Don't you dare cave in, James. Don't do it. Don't you dare fall for hi s little tricks._ Jim frowned, "_No_, Pavel. We can't keep him. He wouldn't be happy on a starship."

"Boot he'll die eef ve leawe him here!" the teen argued.

"We are not taking the Tribble with us! That is final! Now go put it down so we can get on with the mission!" Kirk snapped, feeling too much like a frustrated mother rather than the terror-striking captain he was.

Bowing his head slightly, Chekov's entire body seemed to just wilt as he hugged the tiny brown fur-ball in his arms close to his chest and sniffled. It killed Kirk to watch his young charge look so defeated and heartbroken, but he had to stay strong. Space wasn't the place for such a creature and especially not a starship of all places. They ate and ate and _multiplied_ – the last thing they needed was to be swamped by a colony of tribbles, thank you.

But then again…Chekov looked so upset and when Kirk really thought about, the kid probably had never had a pet before in his life; what with the teen's mother constantly in the hospital and all of their medical problems and such. Not to mention that fact that the kid was allergic to almost everything in the galaxy (much like himself) and these things were the most hypoallergenic you could get. …And what _real_ harm could a little Tribble do after all? Besides, he could probably get Bones to figure out a way to neuter the thing so it won't multiply. It'll just eat and sleep and act like a mini puppy.

_I better not regret this later,_ Jim thought with an inward groan before sighing heavily, "Pavel…wait."

The teen slowly turned back around to face his captain, teary eyes looking sadly up at the man, waiting to see what he wanted. Kirk swallowed thickly; dammit, the kid knew just how to tug on his heartstrings without even trying. He was getting too soft.

Shaking his head, the man rubbed at the back of his neck, "We can…figure something out I guess. Get it a cage and maybe I can get Bones to figure something out about the multiplication problem, too."

Straightening immediately and face brightening into a blinding smile, Pavel looked hopeful, "Keptin, are you sayeng…?"

Jim smiled slightly, "Yeah, you can keep the Tribble."

"Zank yew, sor!" the teen all but squealed, bouncing up and down before lunging at the man and giving him a tight, one-armed hug.

The captain smiled softly, hugging the boy back and ruffling his curly hair, "Whatcha gonna name it, kid?"

The teen shrugged, "Noot shore, yet."

Getting a grand idea, the blond grinned and leaned down, "I have a suggestion…"

* * *

"How did the mission go?" Sulu asked once they were back on the bridge as he got out of the captain's chair and smiled at the blond.

Jim grinned, "Couldn't have gone better."

"Ze keptin let me keep a Tribble!" Chekov piped up excitedly, showing the furry creature to his best friend.

Sulu blinked, leaning back a little as the creature was thrust into his face. He raised an eyebrow at Kirk, who shrugged and mouthed 'as long as it makes him happy, what's the big deal?' The Asian pilot nodded in understanding before smiling at the teen, "Awesome, Pav."

Uhura smiled as she came over and hugged their resident Russian from behind, soft hands grasping his shoulders as she looked at the creature from over his head, "It's so cute. What are you going to name it, sweetie?"

The teen grinned mischievously up at the woman, "I neemed him Spock Jr."

Sulu and Kirk were on the floor of the bridge laughing their heads off and holding their aching stomachs at the way the kid relayed the news, Uhura cupping hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle her own giggles.

"What is so humorous?" the stoic voice of the aforementioned Vulcan cut through the hysteria of the pilot and captain, both men quickly standing to attention, though Kirk smirked while doing it.

"Nothing, Spock." He said innocently, "Pavel here was just telling us the name of his new pet."

"Pet?" the Vulcan inquired, eyeing the Tribble curiously.

Pavel nodded excitedly, "Mhm, and his neem ees Spock Jr. Ze Keptin said yew'd leek eet."

Both of Spock's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline before he turned his gaze to a snickering Kirk.

"Oh come on, Spock," he chuckled, "It's just a little joke."

Needless to say, Kirk found himself waking up in Medbay several hours later with a large bruise on his pressure point.


End file.
